By Datuk Yusli Mohd Yusoff
THE Malaysian Institute of Corporate Governance’s vision is to be the leading advocate of corporate governance in Malaysia.
MICG’s principal activities are to promote and encourage corporate governance development, provide education and training for the benefit of its members and other interested institutions or bodies in Malaysia.
MICG was established in March 1998 following recommendations by the High Level Finance Committee on corporate governance.
The institute was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee (CLBG) with founding members consisting of the Federation of Public Listed Companies (FPLC), Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA), Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA), Malaysian Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (MAICSA) and Malaysian Institute of Directors (MID).
Today the Institute has a member base of approximately 180 consisting of ordinary, corporate and partners in corporate governance (PICG) who share the strong commitment to governance.
National interests
In 2019, MICG was invited to be a member of two new key advisory panels, ie the National Special Committee on Corporate Governance (NSCCG) which reports to the Special Cabinet Committee on Anti-Corruption and the Corporate Governance Council under the Securities Commission Malaysia.
We have exchanged views with the National Financial Crime Centre (NFCC), Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Malaysian Institute of Integrity (IIM).
Transparency in corporate reporting (TRAC) 2019
MACC (Amendment) 2018 Act was passed and gazetted on May 4, 2018. The act came into effect on Oct 1, 2018 except for Section 4 of the Act on corporate liability which was made effective from June 1, 2020.
MICG funded the TRAC 2019 report which was a follow-up report to the TRAC 2017 report. The 2019 report focused on the assessment of how well the top 100 public listed companies reported on their anti-corruption measures in the public domain compared with the 2017 report.
In addition, companies were assessed on their preparedness for the date of June 1, 2020 when the new corporate liability provisions become effective. This significant project was undertaken by MICG to support the Government’s National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP) 2019-2023 in the corporate sector.
MICG advocated to the Government on the implementation of the Act and this was made effective form June 1, 2020.
Universities outreach
As an Adjunct Professor of the School of Education and Modern Languages (SEML), Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), I was invited to share with both the students and academia on the importance and characteristics of good governance, and commendable practices which would benefit any institution.
Similarly, at the Faculty of Economics and Management (FEP) at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) GRACE Forum 2020, I had the pleasure of sharing with academia, students and invited guests on the Impact of COVID-19 on certain “economic sectors, boards & senior management and individuals”.
Business partnerships
In 4Q 2020, MICG signed two memorandums of understanding (MOUs). The first MOU was with Climate Governance Malaysia (CGM) and the second with the 30% Club Malaysia Chapter.
The MOUs signify a new milestone for MICG. MICG is supportive of the need to address climate change issues and the importance for boards and senior management to be fully aware of the implications on their businesses.
We also support seeing more women take on senior management roles and helping them become board-ready.
New programmes in 2021
- Our first virtual forum for the year on May 20 will focus on “Governance in SMEs” with the theme SMEs, a Key Strategic Business Partner in the Supply Chain. SMEs are keen to find a bigger role in the challenging business eco-system.
The programme will highlight the importance of good governance practices in enabling SMEs to become a key strategic business partner in the supply chain.
- A new Legal Governance Certificate programme is being launched in 2Q 2021. This programme is directed at board members and key senior professionals who are keen to equip themselves with the understanding and knowledge of legal governance.
- With many companies discovering shortcomings in staff integrity, it is apt for the institute to reinforce the key messages through another new programme called the “Personal Integrity Development Programme” which will be run as an individual course and customised for in-house delivery. – April 26, 2021
Datuk Yusli Mohd Yusoff is the president of the Malaysian Institute of Corporate Governance.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
