KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 7): Eight out of Malaysia’s top 10 public-listed companies scoring the highest in corporate reporting transparency are government-linked, a report today showed.

Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) topped the list, followed by KLCC Property and Real Estate Investment Trust, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, AMMB Holdings Bhd, Unisem (M) Bhd, MISC Bhd, Sime Darby Bhd, and lastly Petronas units, namely Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd and Petronas Dagangan Bhd.

The rankings were revealed in the Malaysian Institute of Corporate Governance (MICG) 2019 report titled Transparency in Corporate Reporting: Assessing Malaysia’s Top 100 Public Listed Companies (TRAC Report 2019), launched here today.

Designed to focus specifically on anti-corruption reporting, the report sought to examine whether the top 100 largest Malaysian-listed companies’ (by market capitalisation) anti-corruption programmes have grown stronger since the first report in 2017; as well as their corporate liability readiness in terms of having established adequate procedures, ahead of the enforcement of corporate liability for corruption offences under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (Amendment) Act 2018 starting June 2020.

Its findings were tabulated after assessments were made based on what companies reported via their annual reports, websites and other data found in the public domain.

At the launch, Bursa Malaysia Bhd chairman Datuk Shireen Ann Zaharah Muhiudeen said the private sector and business community must play their parts, as the country moves forward in its anti-corruption agenda.

“There are no substitutes for integrity, ethics or good governance.

“Corruption cannot be justified as a cost of doing business. The impact of the corporate liability provisions is that we cannot adopt anything other than international best practices,” she added.