For fully virtual general meetings, the Guidance Note states that there should not be more than eight essential individuals physically present at the broadcast venue, which includes the Chairperson of the general meeting, and may also be joined by the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer, the company secretary, the auditor and those providing audio-visual support. However, the SC stressed that listed issuers should try to conduct the fully virtual meeting with as few individuals present at the venue as possible. Those present must observe all social distancing guidelines.

“This guidance note is necessary to ensure companies can continue to meet their obligations under the law and to shareholders during this MCO period. We also encourage companies to continue leveraging technology, even beyond the MCO period, to conduct meetings in a manner that will encourage and enable full shareholder participation, even from remote locations,” said Datuk Syed Zaid Albar, SC Chairman.

This is in line with Principle C (II) and Practice 12.3 of the Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance, where boards are encouraged to have effective, transparent and regular communication with shareholders including leveraging technology to promote shareholder participation.

Companies can submit an application to the SC for a time-limited travel exemption for the essential individuals to travel to the broadcast venue for the fully virtual meetings.

The SC also stated that hybrid general meetings, which involve multiple venues in different locations, shall only be conducted after the MCO period has ended, in order to adhere to the Government’s directives to curb the spread of Covid 19.

The Guidance Note and the form to apply for the time-limited travel exemption can be downloaded from https://www.sc.com.my/regulation/corporate-governance and queries can be directed to [email protected].