ISO 37001 ABMS, corruption defence mechanism in businesses

By ANIS FARHANAH MALEK
anisfarhanah@dagangnews.com

KUALA LUMPUR 13 August - Businesses and organisations should implement ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management Systems (ABMS) as an effective defence mechanism to manage corruption risks.

It also demonstrates that they have adequate procedures to prevent persons associated with the commercial organisation from undertaking corrupt practices.

Chairman of SIRIM Berhad, Tan Sri Dr. Ahmad Tajuddin Ali said, corrupt practices threaten business sustainability as they increase the costs of doing business and in the long term, customers, suppliers and investors would rather do business with well-governed and reputable firms.

He said, ISO 37001:2016 ABMS is based on internationally recognised good practices and it specifies the requirements and provides guidance in designing, implementing, maintaining and improving organisations’ anti-bribery management system, which helps to prevent, detect and respond to bribery while adhering to the MACC Act 2009 (Act 694) and other anti-corruption laws and regulations.

“Corruption is damaging for local businesses and ultimately, our national economy. World’s best practices, ISO 37001 (ABMS) aims to improve systems and workflows by enforcing corporate governance.

"It will boost the level of confidence towards the country, making the economy more diversified by creating a healthy and competitive environment,” said him during a forum on “Breaking the Chain of Corruption through ABMS for Economic Sustainability” organised by The Malaysian Institute of Integrity (IIM) and SIRIM QAS International Sdn. Bhd, today.

Featured in the forum were four panellists Director General of the National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption, Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed; Managing Director of Top Glove Corporation Berhad, Datuk Lee Kim Meow; Chief Executive Officer of IIM, Nor’afiza Saim; and moderated by Chief Executive Officer of SIRIM QAS International, Mohd. Azanuddin Salleh.

The featured panellists who are leading corporate figures and experts in the field of corruption aimed to provide updates on the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP), highlight how ABMS can help local businesses achieve sustainable growth, share the experiences of Top Glove Corporation Berhad on taking a stand against corruption and bribery, and share findings on an impact study on ABMS certified organisations.

Meantime, Nor’afiza presented findings from a study which focused on the effectiveness of the implementation of ABMS.

The study revealed that ABMS is an effective tool to improve the organisation’s culture of integrity, governance and anti-corruption, reputation and the commitment of its top management and governing body.

For record, the implementation of the Corporate Liability provision under the new Section 17A of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 (Amendment 2018) on 1 June 2020, makes corporations liable to prosecution for corruption.

SIRIM QAS International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SIRIM Berhad is the first and only certification body to be accredited by the Department of Standards Malaysia to offer ISO 37001:2016 ABMS. SIRM QAS International is currently offering 20% rebate on ABMS certification fees until December 2020.

Certification from SIRIM QAS International provides confidence to customers and stakeholders that the certified organisation is adopting best practices in managing bribery risks. Currently, 60 organisations have been certified under the ISO 37001:2016 certification scheme. – DagangNews.com