KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s public-listed company (PLC) boards and management have been urged to treat board governance as a competitive advantage rather than a safeguard against risks.
Bursa Malaysia CEO Datuk Fad’l Mohamed said stronger governance is crucial as Malaysia pushes to raise board diversity, enhance sustainability oversight and position itself among the world’s top 25 nations in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) by 2033.
“An effective board brings independence of mind, diversity of perspectives and strategic oversight that elevates a company’s ability to compete. Strengthen the narratives that link risk, strategy and capital allocation. Investors reward coherence they can model,” he said in his speech at the launch of the Malaysian Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators’ (Maicsa) annual conference today.
Fad’l also called on ecosystem partners to continue collaborating with Bursa Malaysia to ensure governance frameworks are practical and scalable across companies of all sizes. “We welcome Maicsa’s continuous input so that guidance documents and toolkits stay practical and for boardrooms of every size,” he said
Bursa Malaysia, he added, will continue working with Maicsa and other stakeholders to build a culture of trust, transparency and accountability in the market.
As Malaysia aspires to rank among the top 25 nations in Transparency International’s CPI by 2033, Fad’l stressed that governance professionals will play a critical role in helping organisations meet global standards.
Furthermore, he highlighted progress reflected in the Securities Commission Malaysia’s Corporate Governance Monitor 2024, which showed that over 96% of PLCs have adopted sustainability oversight at board and management levels.
Women now hold 27% of PLC board positions, up from 12% in 2016, with representation among the top 100 PLCs climbing to 32.2%.
Independent directors account for just over half of all board seats, while 63% of companies ensure their chairmen are not members of audit, nomination or remuneration committees.
Adoption levels are also high, with 30 of the 48 best practices under the Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance recording compliance rates above 90%.
To support these improvements, Fad’l said, Bursa has invested to provide FTSE ESG ratings for all Main and ACE Market PLCs, giving investors a credible benchmark.
Bursa has also aligned listing requirements with the National Sustainability Reporting Framework and enhanced its Centralised Sustainability Intelligence platform with IFRS Scope 1 and Scope 2 reporting modules, accessible at no cost to PLCs.
Fad’l added that Bursa has partnered with industry players to scale decarbonisation measurement and introduced capacity-building initiatives such as the Chairperson’s Circle and the Mandatory Accreditation Programme to equip directors with governance and sustainability skills.
“Together through regulatory guidance, professional excellence and industry collaboration, we can build institutions that are ethical, resilient and globally competitive,” he concluded.