MALAYSIA has developed a good regulatory system since the Asian financial crisis, said Malaysia Airlines chairman Tan Sri Dr Munir Majid.
“There are (healthy) capital adequacy ratios, corporate governance and proper risk management practices in place,” he said during an interactive session on Reshaping the World Economy.
The “repair work” that Malaysia did as a result of the crisis was “detailed and thorough”, he said.
“We did a whole host of things to make sure whatever shortcomings pre-1997/98 were addressed, for example, in terms of corporate governance, capital debt ratio, risk management and training of directors.
“We had disclosure and transparency, so many things we improved on.
“However, we must not be complacent now; things can happen,” he said.
Later, on the sidelines of the symposium, Munir said now that the global economic crisis appeared to be quietening down “a bit”, the “danger” was that everyone was concerned about “going for growth.”
“They forget the cause of the crisis, the excesses, the mismanagement, the promise for new international financial architecture and so on – we don’t want to be hit again,” he said.
Munir also called for greater trust among the major economies of the world.
“Trust means when I lend money to you, I trust that you will make good use of it, I trust that I will get it back, (and) I trust that when I get it back in my currency, it will not be less than what I lent you.
“In that trust, you must tell me what you are doing with the money, and you must keep me informed. But then, you just take the money and do whatever you want. This is what has been happening.
“Cooperation means that I must respect you, you must respect me. I must make sure I give you the money properly and you understand that I have to be kept informed on what the money is used for and vice versa.
“This sort of things must be built up, so we can move on together,” he said.
Article Source: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/8/11/business/4494415&sec=business
