KUALA LUMPUR (April 16): The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) said today only 59% of listed companies in the country had anti-corruption policies in place.

The SC said in its 2019 annual report, which was released today, that it had reviewed the anti-corruption policies of listed companies in light of the corporate liability provision (Section 17A3) in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, which comes into force on June 1, 2020.

"The review found that only 59% of listed companies had anti-corruption policies in place, and the majority of these policies required enhancements to bring them in line with the Guidelines on Adequate Procedures issued by the Prime Minister’s Department.

"One of the key priorities in 2019 was the implementation of holistic anti-corruption measures for the SC and the capital market in line with the National Anti-Corruption Plan 2019-2023 (NACP), which was launched by the (former) Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Jan 29, 2019. 

"The NACP identified six priority areas and 115 initiatives to combat corruption. These include strengthening the effectiveness of public service delivery and inculcating good governance in corporate entities,” the regulator said.

The SC said its anti-corruption committee was established on April 1, 2019 to identify improvement opportunities to strengthen governance, integrity and anti-corruption measures within the SC. 

The SC’s chairman chairs the committee, the members of which comprise representatives from the SC board and management. 

"The committee is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the SC’s initiatives under the NACP,” it said.