KUALA LUMPUR (July 30): Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) chairman Datuk Syed Zaid Albar said today the regulator has instructed bourse operator Bursa Malaysia to conduct a thorough systems review to ensure integrity and reliability, following two technical glitches within seven months.

In a statement today, Syed Zaid said the SC takes technical glitch occurrences at local market infrastructure including Bursa very seriously.

"In view of the critical role they play in our market, it is vital that their systems remain resilient and always available. It is important they adopt best practices and latest technology to ensure continued seamless market operations.

"The management of Bursa has assured the SC that the problem has been rectified. Nonetheless, the SC has instructed Bursa to conduct a thorough systems review, including scalability, resilience and recoverability, to minimise the risk of further issues in the future," Syed Zaid said.

According to the SC's statement, following the trading halt on the local stock exchange on July 16, the SC has reviewed the incident report and met with senior officials of Bursa to assess the measures being taken to address the situation.

Today, the SC said the July 16 incident was Bursa's second system glitch, resulting in a trading halt, within seven months.

"Trading was also halted in the last 15 minutes of trading hours on Dec 19, 2019.

"The SC will continue to closely engage with Bursa, as well as other market participants and stakeholders, to ensure that the overall trading ecosystem and market intermediaries are offering reliable service to investors and end users," the SC said.