SPEAKING UP AGAINST WRONGDOING

implement many ethics, anti-harassment and whistle-blower policies.

This passionate lawyer talks to about her new movement, the importance of speaking up and how leaders can improve the corporate culture of their companies to better reflect the inner yearnings of their people. This is a very real challenge and not just in Malaysia. First question: Is there a policy on ethics and whistleblowing? Next question: Is there an ethics hotline which is anonymous and independent? If the answers are yes for both, that’s good. If not, it’s a tough situation. I’d say go to the legal department of your company. If nothing happens, then you have no choice but to go outside, perhaps to MACC or some other relevant enforcement agency. she used to parrot me even at an early age. Whenever I noticed some bad behaviour, I realise some of it actually came from me and that I’d have to change. Now that she’s older, we openly discuss our respective behaviours and a lot of it is actually tough learning for me. I read a lot of books. Normally up to 10 books at a time which I dip into whenever I’m in the mood. The book that impacted me the most though is Margaret Heffernan’s

which talks about how leaders choose to ignore the obvious at their peril. Wrongdoing cannot happen in a vacuum. It is often the environment — for example, KPI pressures, a domineering leadership and a closed, toxic culture that are more likely to breed wrongdoing. People usually hesitate to report wrongdoing for two reasons: fear and futility. If we can create workplaces where people feel safe and they believe they can make a difference, then we can tackle wrongdoing at an early stage.