Embrace good governance to succeed as a progressive nation: Paul Low

Everyone must embrace integrity and practice good governance in order for Malaysia to succeed as a progressive nation, said Senator Datuk Paul Low Seng Kuan.

A sustainable culture of integrity in any society was built upon the foundation of values and beliefs consisting of honesty, truthfulness and respect for others, said the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

"Every person has a role to play to uphold integrity, so that integrity itself becomes a cultural norm of behaviour in our society.

"We must all give high respect for and practice good governance in order to succeed as a progressive nation.

"Once integrity is embedded in our culture, the issue of trust will underpin our relationship with others, be it our employees, customers, the general public or elected political leaders," said the minister.

Low said this in his keynote address at the Governance Symposium 2016 here, today, released by the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA).

The symposium, jointly organised by the MIA and the Malaysian Institute of Corporate Governance (MICG), was designed to allow professional accountants, corporate governance experts, and other participants to exchange views on essential elements of corporate governance, and discuss best practices that will improve the current and future business and economic climate.

Themed 'Driving Public-Private Governance Forward', the conference aims to provide innovative solutions in bridging and moving governance forward in both the public and private sectors for the purpose of spurring Malaysia’s economic growth for a sustainable future.

Other measures advocated by Low to deal with the institutional framework and administrative processes include building strong institutions that are independent and professional and having adequate laws and upholding these laws in a just and fair manner.

The minister also urged to improve the efficiency and integrity of the delivery processes of services with transparency, accountability and check-and-balance mechanisms, and have a trusted channel for reporting

complaints of abuses.