Friday 29 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on December 6, 2021 - December 12, 2021

PwC Malaysia’s biennial Building Trust Awards returns in its fourth iteration, shining the spotlight on Corporate Malaysia’s top public-listed companies that have put in the work to build trust with their stakeholders — an important initiative given the headwinds arising from the pandemic.

Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) was the winner in the FBM KLCI category of the 2021 Awards, which was held virtually this year, with Sime Darby Bhd and Axiata Group Bhd in second and third place respectively.

This year’s awards also considered companies in the FBM Mid 70 Index, with Sime Darby Property Bhd clinching the top spot, followed by KPJ Healthcare Bhd and Yinson Holdings Bhd — both jointly in second place.

Malayan Banking Bhd group president and CEO Datuk Abdul Farid Alias said, “Maybank has had the opportunity to refine its practice of building trust for over 60 years. The pandemic was a catalyst for us to come out even stronger in our efforts to reach out and support our stakeholder groups through targeted initiatives. Our topmost priority is to safeguard the well-being of our customers and employees.

“We are deeply honoured to be a part of the Awards and thank PwC for placing importance on the trust-building element, which has been demonstrated to be such an important value in an organisation’s sustainability, especially in the post-pandemic environment.”

Representing the winner (FBM KLCI), Malayan Banking Bhd: Datuk Abdul Farid Alias, Group President & Chief Executive Officer
Representing the winner (FBM Mid 70 Index), Sime Darby Property Bhd: Datuk Azmir Merican, Group Managing Director

Sime Darby Property Bhd group managing director Datuk Azmir Merican said trust is key in the property developer’s 50-year experience in building sustainable townships and communities.

“We aim to be a 'Force for Good' by building resilience through biodiversity, design, products and communities, and the onus is on us to maintain this in years to come.”

PwC Malaysia managing partner Soo Hoo Khoon Yean (Soo Hoo) said trust is important during times of crisis, and a lack of trust can cause setbacks.

“The Building Trust Awards was conceived to raise awareness of the importance of trust in business, aligned with our purpose ‘To build trust in society and solve important problems’,” he said.

Board of Trustees, International Valuation Standards Council past chairman Sir David Tweedie, who is the chief judge of the awards, said assessing trust amid the Covid-19 pandemic was a study in Malaysian companies’ trust-building efforts.

“The winning companies were able to demonstrate how their corporate governance and strategic priorities fit into their overall business strategy through their corporate reporting. With the added dimension of ESG reporting, it’s clear that the winning companies are tuned into how the market is changing,” he said.

Six companies received Special Mentions in recognition of their performance in other areas of the methodology.

For the FBM KLCI category, Sime Darby Bhd received a Special Mention for “PwC Malaysia’s Integrated Reporting Benchmarking Analysis and ESG Reporting Benchmarking Analysis”, while Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) received recognition for “PwC Malaysia’s Trust Analytics Framework and Building Trust Public Poll”.

Telekom Malaysia Bhd received a Special Mention as well for “PwC Malaysia-Asia School of Business’s Trust and Leadership Survey”.

Meanwhile, Special Mentions for the FBM Mid 70 Index category went to Sime Darby Property Bhd for “PwC Malaysia’s ESG Reporting Benchmarking Analysis” and KPJ Healthcare Bhd for “PwC Malaysia’s Trust Analytics Framework and Building Trust Public Poll”, while Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd received recognition for “PwC Malaysia-Asia School of Business’s Trust and Leadership Survey”.

Emcee Lina Teoh announcing the winners

By recognising companies that are making the most effort to build trust, PwC aims to highlight that trust is an asset that can be measured, with tangible gains for those that are authentic and consistent in their efforts.

“Ultimately, the trust landscape is always evolving. What we’ve learnt from the pandemic is that people reward honesty and transparency. Being upfront about their challenges and how they plan to tackle them goes a long way towards building trust in Corporate Malaysia.

“I look forward to seeing our finalists inspire others in their own trust-building journeys in the months and years to come,” said Soo Hoo.

FBM KLCI: Winner

Malayan Banking Bhd

“Integrity is equivalent to doing the right thing, especially when no one is watching. Doing the right thing for the organisation. As long as this is clear in our minds, everything else that we do will be to accomplish the purpose of protecting the organisation, or enhancing the organisation and no one else.”

Datuk Abdul Farid Alias

Group President & Chief Executive Officer

FBM KLCI: 2nd place

Sime Darby BHD

Datuk Jeffri Salim Davidson

Group Chief Executive Officer

“The success of Sime Darby Bhd is essentially premised on trust for the simple reason that our business is in all our relationships. We have been partners for many many years to some of the biggest and most revered brands, and the very foundation of the relationship is the trust that they have in us to represent them, to do our job, to do well.”

FBM KLCI: 3rd place

Axiata Group BHD

Datuk Izzaddin Idris

Managing Director/President & Group Chief Executive Officer

“In light of the highly digital lifestyles we lead, where transactions are increasingly being conducted far beyond what is familiar to us, trust is everything. Ultimately, this lies in how we create long term social value by leveraging our corporate, digital and innovation capabilities to drive societal advancement.”

Scan QR code to find out more on what led to these wins in the Judges’ report

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