The Malaysian Disclosure Framework on Executive Directors’ Remuneration: A Critical Review and Closing Its Loops

Abstract

Disclosure of executive directors’ remuneration especially on their individual pay continues to be a sensitive issue especially in a country like Malaysia where ownership is tightly held and potential rent extractions are significant. The objective of this paper is to provide a critical review on the existing Malaysian disclosure framework on executive directors’ remuneration. It outlines and assesses the current disclosure frameworks in ensuring high level of disclosure on executive directors’ remuneration, covering the Malaysian Corporate Governance Code, the Bursa Malaysia Listing Rule and the Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards. The review shows that there are weaknesses in the overall framework and offer suggestions on how to close the loops in order to improve the level of disclosure of executive directors’ remuneration. It is suggested that the Malaysian regulators adopt a mandatory and prescriptive approach in dealing with the disclosure of executive directors’ remuneration and to step up their enforcement to ensure full compliance to the disclosure framework.