A Light Rail Transit (LRT) train travels along the tracks in Kampung Datuk Keramat, Kuala Lumpur, October 28, 2021. Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz announced that it will be compulsory for all major companies to have one female director on their board by September 2022, and for all other listed companies by January 2023. — Picture by Firdaus Latif
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — The government said today it wants more women representation in the board of directors of public-listed companies during the tabling of Budget 2022.
Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz announced that it will be compulsory for all major companies to have one female director on their board by September 2022, and for all other listed companies by January 2023.
“Women’s contributions to society as a whole cannot be denied and must be revered and strengthened. From the top 100 listed companies , only 25 per cent of their board of directors are women. There are still 252 companies under Bursa Malaysia that still have no women representation.
“To acknowledge women’s role in making decisions the government as well as the Securities Commission is making it compulsory to have at least one woman in all public-listed companies.
“This suggestion is expected to take effect on September 1, 2022 for large companies, June 1, 2023 for all other listed companies,” he said today.
In addition, RM5 million will go to Yayasan Pimpinan Wanita, or Female Leadership Foundation, to organise leadership and entrepreneurial programmes for women.
He said these programmes are aimed at helping the women grow their business online and from home.
For these efforts RM232 million will be allocated through the DanaNITA programme run by Majlis Amanah Rakyat and TekunNITA under Tekun Nasional.