Distribution Network
Content
Public listed companies in Malaysia have made significant progress in corporate governance compliance, said Abdullah Badawi, the premier and finance minister, when he put forward his tentative vision of CSR for the country during his budget speech.
Badawi said public listed companies had to disclose their CSR activities, and his ideal was a corporate culture that provided business opportunities to domestic entrepreneurs and awarded contracts to ethnic Malays and other indigenous ethnic groups, known as the bumiputra, so that diversity was achieved in employment and human capital was developed.
In addition, he said, CSR activities should include contributing to the less fortunate members of Malaysian society. He made special mention of the Adopt-a-School programme, the training of unemployed graduates and the granting of scholarships.
The Adopt-a-School Programme enables companies to support parent-teacher associations, help promising students from poor families, provide equipment and facilities, and sponsor tuition in English, mathematics and science.
Badawi said companies were being encouraged to help their communities by adopting a charitable institution, such as a welfare home, an orphanage or a drug rehabilitation centre. He said the companies should ask their employees to participate in this work too, and should involve stakeholders in their decisions.
To promote CSR the government is to raise the ceiling for tax deductions on contributions to charity from five to seven per cent and to extend the concession to sports activities.
Practical effects of the ethical approach, said Badawi, were that companies practising CSR were likely to attract investors, and Malaysia would derive social and economic benefits from good corporate conduct.
A criticism of the government’s policy is that CSR is too narrowly defined. However, the critics concede that Badawi’s statements have generated a great deal of discussion on CSR in Malaysia.
Badawi said public listed companies had to disclose their CSR activities, and his ideal was a corporate culture that provided business opportunities to domestic entrepreneurs and awarded contracts to ethnic Malays and other indigenous ethnic groups, known as the bumiputra, so that diversity was achieved in employment and human capital was developed.
In addition, he said, CSR activities should include contributing to the less fortunate members of Malaysian society. He made special mention of the Adopt-a-School programme, the training of unemployed graduates and the granting of scholarships.
The Adopt-a-School Programme enables companies to support parent-teacher associations, help promising students from poor families, provide equipment and facilities, and sponsor tuition in English, mathematics and science.
Badawi said companies were being encouraged to help their communities by adopting a charitable institution, such as a welfare home, an orphanage or a drug rehabilitation centre. He said the companies should ask their employees to participate in this work too, and should involve stakeholders in their decisions.
To promote CSR the government is to raise the ceiling for tax deductions on contributions to charity from five to seven per cent and to extend the concession to sports activities.
Practical effects of the ethical approach, said Badawi, were that companies practising CSR were likely to attract investors, and Malaysia would derive social and economic benefits from good corporate conduct.
A criticism of the government’s policy is that CSR is too narrowly defined. However, the critics concede that Badawi’s statements have generated a great deal of discussion on CSR in Malaysia.
Super Featured
No
Featured
No