Corporate Governance in Malaysia (PDF)

Corporate governance is integral in a country's economic system. A strong corporate governance system and an active participation from the various parties are crucial in promoting sound and ethical business practices. To illustrate the importance of strong corporate governance, this paper highlights some major corporate collapes in Malaysia, US, UK and in some other selected countries. Given the importance of corporate governance, this paper discusses the theories which underpin corporate governance as well as corporate governance models are currently practiced. The current corporate governance requirements and codes in the UK and US, the two countries which are considered as very advanced in promulgating corporate governance, are discussed in detail to shed light the world's best practices. A discussion on the Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance (MCCG) is the presented with the objective of determining whether Malaysia moves in tandem with the best practices in these developed countries. Issues that are pertinent to the Malaysian corporate governance will also be discussed. The main corporate governance issue in Malaysia is the pattern of ownership, where firms are closely-held. This pattern of ownership has a significant bearing on bboard composition and its effectiveness. Finally, this paper proposes ten changes which should be considered by the Malaysian relevant uthorities, namely Bursa Malaysia and the Securities Commision, which are aimed as strengthening the board and the audit committee of the listed firms. Among the major changes, is widening the pool of talents for directorship appointments, the formation of a professional body for directors, appointing a director to represent the stakeholder to a listed firm board, establishment of a Code of Ethics for directors and direct appointment of audit committee members at the company's AGM.