Today is the last day of Zarinah Anwar as chairman of Securities Commission.
This posting is my farewell to her.
Zarinah was my first muse in this blog.
Is she really a crook?
That was the second posting of this blog.
You can read the rest of stuff I wrote about her here -
SC
Well, my lady, here is a bouquet for you.
Have a good rest. I hope to meet you in person one day. Take care.
BTW, The Star did an extensive coverage on her departure from SC for their today's publication.
This is the main story and the links to the other accompanying articles -
Tough job for a tough lady
As
Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar
sat down to give her exit interview as the chairman of the Securities
Commission (SC), she struck an all too familiar look that many in the
capital market have gotten accustomed to.
With her trademark dark
rimmed reading glasses drooping on the bridge of her nose, Zarinah,
with her answers to a set of questions
StarBizWeek had sent earlier, requested that the interview follow the set of prepared answers to questions.
She
was not about to break from form after serving as chairman of the
Securities Commission for six years as the chief regulator of the
capital markets. She stuck to the end of her job and responsibility and
was still going by the book. Saying what she wants, getting her point
across, without leaving room for any misinterpretation.
Zarinah sends a message that the integrity of the market was not an option she would compromise.
What
market participants have also gotten used to during her time is her
unflinching commitment to market integrity. A virtue that was first
demonstrated when she stepped into the shoes of her predecessor
Tan Sri Md Nor Md Yusof.
Her first public “crisis” was to deal with talk of manipulation involving the trading of shares in
Iris Corp Bhd and market chatter about unscrupulous officials in the SC.
Zarinah
got tough with the manipulators, dousing the then fervour trade
surrounding the stock and at the same time, sent a message that the
integrity of the market was not an option she would compromise.
That
integrity was also questioned in a different light when talk pointed to
the existence of corrupt SC officials walking through the corridors of
the commission, an accusation she took head on with much contempt. She
implored for evidence, saying she would act to fix what was wrong.
Those
two episodes tested the experienced regulator who had learned the
mechanism of the SC after joining the commission from Shell in 2001 to
serve as the deputy chief executive until her promotion in 2006.
It
was not a job she thought she was going to stay long in but she
engineered the motion of steadfastly straightening the SC and
establishing a robust regulatory and governance framework that market
participants have come to respect.
Zarinah says she stayed on as
chairman for far longer than she intended to, going against the grain of
her early thoughts about joining the SC.
“It is no secret that I
had wanted retire earlier, so it really wasn't a difficult decision. It
is something that I had planned for. I had wanted to retire two years
ago, that's why I accepted one-year extensions for the last two
renewals. It was a matter of getting the right successor in place.”
Nazir: ‘Certainly she has been extremely dedicated to her work and is wellrecognised globally.’
Zarinah
presided over a period that saw not only significant growth in the
capital markets both in equities and the corporate bond market but also
led to improvements in the vigilance and governance oversight of those
markets through the SC.
Larger audience
During her
time, she has been credited with numerous initiatives that has improved
the capital markets, which included the setting up of the audit
oversight board, presiding over the Capital Market Development Fund,
which has helped organisations such as
Minority Shareholders Watchdog Group
to be more effective, and brought the Malaysian capital markets into
the larger audience by getting the SC to get involved in IOSCO
(International Organisation of Securities Commissions), where she
managed to get issues important to Malaysia and the region, on the
agenda.
Those efforts were not lost on those who have worked with her.
“Zarinah
has made significant contributions towards strengthening the standards
of regulation and corporate governance in the capital market as well as
building the institutional capacity of the SC,” says
Datuk Ranjit Ajit Singh, the man who would replace her as SC chairman tomorrow.
“Her
efforts have been well-recognised by industry and her peers in the
regulatory circles globally. For those of us who have worked with her
closely she epitomises the qualities of a dynamic and determined leader
with a strong commitment to quality and hard work.”
Goh Ching
Yin, SC's executive director, strategy and development noted that she
oversaw the implementation of 96% of the recommendations contained in
the Capital Market Masterplan 1, which followed with the launch of the
second plan aimmed at bringing growth through governance, over the next
decade.
“She is a tough act to follow; disciplined, passionate and full of pace.”
CIMB Group Holdings Bhd chief executive Datuk Seri Nazir Razak feels Zarinah tenure as chairman of the SC has been important for the industry over the 10 years she has served in the SC.
Hagger: ‘She has done a good job under difficult circumstance of not only developing but also in regulating the capital market.’
“Certainly
she has been extremely dedicated to her work and is well-recognised
globally and that is a reflection of her and the institution.”
Apart
from the brief maelstorm early on in 2006, Zarinah presided over a
period of relative quiet for the capital markets. There was no implosion
of the market or massive failings of large companies that unearthed any
serious failings of board of directors unlike the post Asian financial
crisis or the collapse of the dotCom bubble.
The capital markets
held its breath during the global financial crisis, and despite the
period of volatility in the capital markets, companies and
intermediaries of the market escaped unscathed from the period.
That,
people felt, could also be attributed to the foundation the SC had laid
to improve the way and processes of oversight of listed companies.
“She
has done a good job under difficult circumstance of not only developing
but also in regulating the capital market,” says head of Malaysian
equities at Credit Suisse Stephen Hagger.
“Both those aspects are
distinct parts of the job and difficult to do in Malaysia when often
there can be political interference.”
Hagger says that one clear
example of the job Zarinah and the SC have done was to improve the
standards and quality of corporate governance in Malaysia.
“We no
longer hear about concerns over corporate governance in Malaysia from
foreign investors. A large part of that credit goes to Zarinah.”
For
the investment bankers that deal with the SC on a daily basis, they
recognise the improvements that have been made under Zarinah.
“It's the consistency. For most of the deals we are involved in, decisions have been applied consistently,” says
Maybank Investment Bank Bhd CEO Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.
“In terms of the integrity of the market, Zarinah has been good for it. The SC did act within its powers.”
One
of Zarinah's improvements Zafrul appreciates is the turnaround time in
which IPOs are approved. For that, Zafrul says the team at the SC that
handles the big IPOs that land on their desks are very good at the job
they do.
“They move very fast and are market-friendly. The
training in Shell shows. Everything has a process. It's clear what we
need to do and everything is thorough,” he says.
“She was not a difficult chairman to meet. She is firm but she listens and tries to engage with us.”
Datuk Yusli Mohamed Yusoff, who is now chairman of
Mudajaya Bhd but dealt with Zarinah regularly when he was the CEO of
Bursa Malaysia, remembers her as being a very strict regulator.
“She
had a no-nonsense approach. The capital market participants and the
listed issuers got a clear message that they must toe the line. There
were no ifs and buts. She expected everyone to follow the rules without
exceptions.
“The SC chairmanship is a position that comes under a
lot of pressure from different directions. The role requires having to
balance what's good for the market and what's good for the market
participants. Her focus was on corporate governance, investor
protection, shareholder activism, transparency and discipline. And these
are very important if you want to have a market that's credible,” he
says.
“Market integrity was of utmost importance to her. That came across very clearly.
Yusli: ‘Her focus was on corporate governance, investor protection, shareholder activism, transparency and discipline.’
“She
is someone who works very, very hard, and is passionate about her work.
And that was to the benefit of the Malaysian capital market,” he adds.
Her exit
Despite the accolades, some do feel there were certain aspects of her job which she could have done better.
Her
uncompromising stance on speculative activity has led to a more orderly
market and the entry of foreign brokers has seen an improvement in
market volumes as they are better able to match the demand for large
blocks of shares with that of not only from the local institutions but
also that by foreign buyers.
But the downside of it is what people feel is a less “interesting” market.
Those
sighing about the current blandness are not hankering for the return of
the days of when Bursa Malaysia had the monicker of being cowboy market
but feel that maybe the SC should relax its grip on speculative
activity to get the excitement back into the broader market.
One
analyst notes that in the pursuit of regulation and oversight, the stock
exchange has gone from being one of the most fluid markets in the 1990s
to one of the least today.
“There is not enough excitement from the retail market. I suppose it's regulated, you can say,” says an observer.
Another
question mark over her time in the SC, unfortunately comes at the end,
when allegations of insider trading were levelled against her husband
when
Sime Darby Bhd acquired 30% of
Eastern & Oriental Bhd. Her husband,
Datuk Azizan Abdul Rahman,
is the chairman of E&O. Azizan had purchased 100,000 shares of
E&O on Aug 12, 2011 while the purchase of E&O shares by Sime
Darby was announced on Aug 28 of the same year.
“The provisions
of the law, and all internal rules and governance requirements have been
fully complied with,” says Zarinah about the incident.
“It's sad
that there have been parties with vested interest and personal agenda
who have sought to tarnish the SC and my reputation.”
There are those in the market who feel such aspersions on her at the tail-end of her career at the SC was not right.
The
SC, they say, has a much better reputation and ability today and a lot
of credit should go to Zarinah and her team in trying to enhance the SC
and its functions.
“The slight cloud surrounding her time of exit is unfair. She stayed on because she was asked to,” says Nazir.
One
banker said she had worked for far less remuneration than what she
could have earned had she returned to Shell and taken her career
upwards.
“People should not forget the sacrifice she has made for
the decade of service at the SC. She played it straight and did her
part.”
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