If shareholders want to know how the salaries of directors and key executives are linked to the company’s performance, they “should demand that this information be forthcoming”, officials at the Securities Commission of Malaysia (SC) said at a technical briefing marking the release of its second annual Corporate Governance Monitor 2020. As it is, companies are required to disclose only pay in bands of RM50,000 but not on a named basis meaning it is not compulsory for companies to disclose who exactly is being paid what amount. The need to make guesstimates from aggregates naturally impedes other stakeholders’ ability to independently evaluate whether a pay package is commensurate with the individual’s performance in the light of how the company is doing. Of the 937 public-listed companies in Malaysia, only 13%, or 122, disclosed remuneration of the top five senior management in bands of RM50,000 on a named basis in 2019 — 10 more than the year before. “However, a number of companies which made such disclosures in 2018 opted not to do so in 2019.

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