KUALA LUMPUR (June 18): The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the transition of board leadership in the country, said ICDM chairman Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar.
"Prior to the global pandemic, board leadership in Malaysia was already in the midst of a paradigm shift, with regulatory measures put in place to transition boards' traditional conformance-oriented oversight to one that is agile, responsive and future-focused," she told the media after the Institute of Corporate Directors Malaysia's (ICDM) annual general meeting today.
Zarinah, who is former chairman of the Securities Commission Malaysia, observes that the transformation journey has gained a new level of momentum as companies are driven to survive amidst great uncertainty and unpredictability during the pandemic.
"Disruption will only accelerate; to ensure companies stay competitive and relevant. It is imperative for boards to speedily transition from a reactive approach to a proactive, sustainability-driven governance model," said Zarinah.
Going forward, she said the institute will continue to expand and deepen its director talent pool as well as empower more board candidates, while also encouraging and facilitating cross-border directorships.
It is working with other institutes of directors in ASEAN to establish an ASEAN Director Network to serve the growing needs of the regional markets as well as to offer ASEAN board candidates to the rest of the world.
ICDM will also be launching the Malaysian Board Practices Review, an initiative to deep-dive into board selection, nomination, appointment and evaluation practices in Malaysia, providing insights to enable better measures in supporting board practices and composition.
ICDM has also been working closely with the regulators to establish a formal certification for directors, to encourage a benchmark of standards for board leadership and greater board effectiveness. This will serve as a key milestone in its mission to raise the bar on the country's corporate governance, according to ICDM.
ICDM published its second ICDM report covering progress and the organisational milestones for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2020, as well as for the period from January to April 2021 to reflect the most current updates.
Some of the highlights in the annual report include the expansion of its membership base to include 671 individual and 50 corporate members, the holding of 132 sessions of virtual director development programmes, the launch of the Aspiring Directors Immersion Programme, as well as the release of the inaugural Malaysia Board Diversity Study and Index.