SINGAPORE: A new hotline established on August 21 in Singapore aims to crackdown on corruption of charities and businesses in the city by having employees act as whistle-blowers. The move has been met with optimism from the NGO community, but businesspeople seem to be on the fence over their employees divulging information about their practices. “I am definitely worried about any type of error being misled as corruption,” one executive in the city told Bikyamasr.com. “The idea of the neighbor or employee reporting on someone is a worrying construct. I understand the point after what Singapore has been through this summer, but it is still worrying.” Launched by the Shared Services for Charities (SSC), the aim is to give employees the space needed in order to tell of any wrongdoing by the charity or company. After the massive scandal of the City Harvest Church, which has been charged with embezzling millions of dollars to fund personal endeavors, the hope is that the new hotline will enable workers to report on mismanagement and wrongdoing at an earlier stage. It's being dubbed the “Ethics Hotline for Charities” and gives employees the confidentiality to report “any possible misconduct in their organizations, from misuse of company assets to sexual harassment,” reported My Paper. Employees can send tips through the hotline phone number, fax, snail mail, the website and email. “Submissions will be handled by dedicated staff from the independent, not-for-profit SSC, compiled, and then sent to an audit committee or designated person within the charity,” the newspaper report said. With Singapore's global corruption status dropping this year as a result of scandal, the hope is that the new hotline will create a means for whistle-blowers to be able to give information in a safe and anonymous atmosphere.
