Dato´ Izzaddin Idris, Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of UEM Group Berhad was in UTP recently to deliver a public lecture entitled “Good Governance and Integrity”, in front a packed audience.
The lecture is part of the Tun Azizan Zainul Abidin Integrity Lecture Series or Taza-ILS, hosted by UTP in collaboration with the Malaysian Institute of Integrity. This lecture series is named after the late Tun Azizan Zainul Abidin, the former President and Chairman of PETRONAS who was a man of great integrity and humility, a visionary leader and a gentleman. Although he may no longer be with us, he has left behind his precious legacy – his vision. Indeed, his many significant contributions to the University, PETRONAS and the nation will always be remembered and treasured.
Ever the quintessential public servant, an excellent administrator, trusted follower and confidante, the late Tun Azizan had served consecutively as principal private secretary to three of the nation’s Prime Ministers – Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, Tun Hussein Onn and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The topic “Good Governance and Integrity” is very much linked with managing corporations. Corporations, whether private or government led, effectively govern themselves, to a large extent, through their own control system and stakeholder relationships. It refers to how corporations are being managed, the roles of shareholders, directors and other managers in corporate decision making as well as accountability.
It is through the corporate governance structure (system) that firms are able to ensure that the needs of all stakeholders are satisfied. Corporate governance also covers the scope of mandatory government laws that have been introduced and strengthened for compliance by corporations, since they have significant impacts on society.
The system provides a method in which the ethical vision can be measured and validated. It is this ‘imposed’ system, comprising rules, procedures and regulations, that ‘governs’ the behaviour of the managers within the firm. The corporate governance system not only incorporates the objectives of stakeholders, but also ensures that the behaviour of employees within the firm is fair, just and transparent to uphold integrity.
