Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) is exploring tighter oversight of company secretaries at listed companies, including standardised competency requirements and stronger rules governing their fitness, propriety and accountability, Chairman Datuk Mohammad Faiz Azmi said.
Faiz said feedback gathered during consultations for the Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance (MCCG) 2026 highlighted the need to strengthen the competence, capabilities and professionalism of company secretaries as their responsibilities become increasingly complex.
While the profession is already regulated, he said the level of competency expected of company secretaries is not consistently applied.
In response, he revealed that the commission is exploring the establishment of a multi-stakeholder taskforce comprising regulators and professional bodies, with one of its proposed objectives being the development of a standardised competency framework for company secretaries of Malaysian-listed companies.
The regulator is also working with Bursa Malaysia on a regulatory framework covering company secretaries, including requirements relating to their fit and properness and accountability, Faiz said.
Speaking at the CGI Global Governance Summit 2026 in Kuala Lumpur, Faiz said the traditional role of company secretaries is changing as expectations placed on corporate boards increase.
Company secretaries are no longer expected merely to ensure legal compliance and maintain corporate records, but are increasingly serving as trusted advisers, facilitators of effective board decision-making and a critical internal voice during deliberations.
“There may be occasions where the most convenient course of action for a Board is not necessarily the best,” Faiz said, adding that asking the right questions could sometimes be more important than having the correct answer.
He said company secretaries could play a vital role in ensuring chairmen and board members consider both positive and negative perspectives when making decisions.
The proposed measures come as the SC prepares to issue MCCG 2026, which will retain accountability, integrity, transparency and effective oversight as its core principles while placing greater emphasis on forward-looking boards and long-term value creation.
Faiz said governance frameworks must evolve alongside rapid changes in business models, technology and stakeholder expectations, with boards increasingly required to navigate artificial intelligence, technological disruption, sustainability pressures and geopolitical uncertainty.
He cautioned against treating governance merely as a compliance exercise, noting that a company could meet regulatory requirements yet still struggle because of poor strategy, excessive risk-taking or an inability to adapt.
“When governance shapes the quality of decisions, it becomes a competitive advantage,” he said.
Faiz said the ultimate test of governance is not the number of policies, disclosures or committees a company has, but whether its governance framework leads to better decisions, stronger resilience, greater trust and sustainable long-term value creation.
