Immobilising large currency notes could help create a crime-less and corruption-less Malaysian society, said Permodalan Nasional Bhd Group Chairman, Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar.

He said another measure included mandating large transactions to be done electronically as well as providing an audit trail.

"Mitigating crime and corruption risks is possible as the world is moving towards a cashless society.

"Technology has advanced so far that mobile payments are enabled and the cost of point-of-sale terminal is affordable for mass deployment," he said.

Abdul Wahid said this at the Malaysian Institute of Accountants' 50th Anniversary Commemorative Lecture.

He said lower-denominated notes should be made available to facilitate small transactions.

Abdul Wahid said the prerequisites of becoming a good and sustainable leader was to have integrity, competency and humility.

On corporate earning outlook in Malaysia, Abdul Wahid said, corporates were expected to perform better than last year as the economy was expected to grow rapidly, backed by the expectations of better commodity prices.

"Our in-house analysts expect corporate earnings to achieve five to seven per cent this year and this is good for the local stock market.

"We hope corporate entities will focus on their fundamentals, improve their earnings and maintain a high dividends payout ratio so that the market will continue to grow," he said.

-- BERNAMA