Complaints and Enquiries - Regulatory Performance and Outcomes

Complaints and Enquiries

To uphold investor protection, the SC has a structured process, system and dedicated resources to manage all complaints and enquiries received from the public.

The SC observed an increasing number of total complaints and enquiries in 2023, compared to the previous year. In 2023, the total number of complaints and enquiries received by the SC were 20% more than 2022. The increase of complaints and enquiries were mainly on scams and unlicensed activities (Table 20).

While the increase in the number of complaints and enquiries in these areas showed that there is greater awareness and scepticism among the public, the SC continued to increase its efforts to curb scams and unlicensed activities through adoption of a multipronged approach (Refer to Special Feature 1, Towards Greater Protection of Investors).

TABLE 20

Complaints and enquiries received

Outcome	2023	2022
Complaints
Received	3,145	1,830
Nature of complaints Scams and unlicensed activities Licensed or registered persons Market misconduct PLCs and directors Digital or RMOs Matters not under the SC’s purview Others	66% 6% 0% 4% 2% 10% 12%	62% 7% 1% 6% 3% 15% 6%
Enquiries
Received	2,173	2,606
Nature of enquiries Legality of scheme involving scams and unlicensed activities Licensed or registered persons PLCs and directors Digital or RMOs Matters not under the SC’s purview Others	55% 4% 0% 2% 12% 27%	51% 3% 1% 2% 8% 35%
TOTAL COMPLAINTS AND ENQUIRIES	5,318	4,436

Special Feature 1 - Towards Greater Protection of Investors

Multi-Pronged Approach Adopted by the SC to Address the Regulatory Concern Arising from Proliferation of Unlicensed Investment Advice

Mitigating Systemic Risks And Promoting Financial Stability

Enhanced Risk Governance Framework

In 2021, the SC-wide risk governance framework was enhanced as part of an overall initiative to have an effective integrated and predictive risk surveillance to maintain regulatory agility.

The structured risk governance framework integrated the wider spectrum of risks such as technology, cyber and conduct risk at the SC’s Systemic Risk Oversight Committee (SROC) and Accounting, Market and Corporate Surveillance Committee (ACMS).

Intensified surveillance

The SC continued to intensify its surveillance of systemic risk to maintain market resilience and stability. Regular SROC engagements were held to deliberate concerns emanating from various segments across the capital market. Domestic equity and bond market, foreign fund flows and trade participation continued to be monitored closely for potential stress points.

In addition, measures and economic stimulus packages introduced by the government to weather the impact of COVID-19, market trading conduct and the financial position of listed companies were among the focus areas for discussion.

Thematic assessments

The SC also conducted thematic assessments covering investors’ fund flows, the position of firms, and policy decisions to ascertain the possible impact on the capital market. In 2021, the SC reviewed and enhanced its crisis indicators on potential emerging risks in the
capital market.

The enhanced crisis indicators provided a reference point for escalation to SROC when the identified indicators and triggers materialised and ensured prompt response to manage and prevent any issues of concern that might lead to a systemic crisis.

Joint regulatory discussions

In 2021, the SC conducted frequent joint regulatory discussions with other authorities such as Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and Labuan Financial Services Authority (Labuan FSA) to identify systemic risk concern areas within the financial and capital markets in Malaysia.

Monitoring of various components of the capital market

The SC continued its efforts to undertake a methodological and integrated approach to ensure any potential systemic risk was being monitored, mitigated, or managed. Figure 1 highlights the findings from the following risk assessments on the various components of the capital market.