Anybody with even a casual interest in corporate Malaysia would have heard of Tan Sri Megat Najmuddin Megat Khas. After all, he is chairman of four listed companies and a director of three others, all in a non-executive capacity. On top of that, he has long been president of both the Federation of Public Listed Companies and the Malaysian Institute of Corporate Governance. A lawyer by training, he is also a veteran Umno politician and sits on the party’s disciplinary board.
Tan Sri Megat Najmuddin Megat Khas, Corporate personality answers...
You wear many hats in business, political and social organisations. How do you balance all these and avoid conflict of interest? – Jenny Tay, Pahang
First and foremost, these organisations are not in competition against each other, so the question of conflict of interest does not arise. Secondly, directly or indirectly in their various ways, all those organisations serve ultimately to improve the country we live in, Malaysia. So, again, in the final analysis, there is no conflict of interest. Having said that, true, I wear many hats in the sense that I am involved with diverse organisations. The secrets, if you like, of performing all those diverse roles are time management and genuine interest in the work. Time management involves focusing on the essentials and delegating some of the work to others. Granted it’s easier to delegate if you are the chairman or president of the organisation. Genuine interest in the work means you like doing it. Otherwise, how else?
If you could keep just one role in a public interest body, what would it be and why? – K. T. Raju, Ipoh
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). MACC is in the frontline, in the trenches as it were, in the fight against corruption in this country. In varying degrees, corruption exists everywhere in the world. You will note that in any country where corruption is uncontrolled, the country’s development and progress, both morally and economically, is retarded. Corruption misallocates resources and debilitates sincere hard work. For Malaysia to move forward, it’s imperative that corruption is checked, if not eradicated completely.
You are a director of several listed companies. How do you decide which board appointments to accept? – S.H. Lee
To be or not to be a director in a company is actually not a tough decision of Hamlet’s proportion. The main thing is assessing what you can do for the company and not what you can get from it. The next thing is to assess whether you will be there as a yes-man or just to make up the numbers, neither of which is my forte. I have to be where I can make a difference with whatever expertise and experience I have.
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