Press Statement - A prelude to the Half-Day Seminar to Launch the Corporate Governance Survey Report 2004 and to update on the activities undertaken by MSWG from 1st May to 19 December 2005.

Good Morning

Important Friends,

First and foremost, I would like to welcome you to the Press Briefing of Badan Pengawas Pemegang Saham Minoriti Berhad (“BPPSM”) or popularly known as Minority Shareholder Watchdog Group (“MSWG”). This is the second Briefing for 2005.

The objectives of today’s press briefing are two-fold :-

• To provide a prelude to the half-day Seminar organised by MSWG in conjunction with the Launching of the Corporate Governance Survey Report 2004 on 21 December 2005; and

• To give an update on the activities carried out by MSWG from 1st May to 19 December 2005 since the endorsement of its Business Plan for 2005 to 2009 by the Capital Market Development Fund (“CMDF”) on 20 April 2005.

The Corporate Governance Survey Report 2004 will be launched on 21 December 2005 by the Chairman of Securities Commission, Y Bhg Tan Sri Md Nor Md Yusof. The Report presents the findings of corporate governance practice in the top 100 companies listed on Bursa Malaysia.

The Survey which is a joint effort between Minority Shareholder Watchdog Group and Nottingham University Business School, was undertaken to determine the level of compliance of these public-listed companies with the local and international corporate governance requirements. The Survey Report is part of the MSWG-NUBS effort for continued drive to promote the best principles as well as the practices of corporate governance in Malaysia.

Copies of the Survey Report will be distributed to invited guests, including members of the media at the half-day Seminar on 21 December 2005.

Latest Status Report on MSWG Activities

In the spirit of ensuring its image of being independent, MSWG has restructured its Board composition by appointing three (3) new independent directors. These new directors replace the representatives from Permodalan Nasional Berhad, Lembaga Tabung Haji and Pertubuhan Keselamatan Sosial. The newly appointed directors are :-

• Y Bhg Datuk Dr Sulaiman Mahbob – President of Integrity Institute of Malaysia

• Y Bhg Dato’ Larry Gan – Entrepreneur & Former Partner of global Accenture organisation

• Mr Philip Koh Tong Ngee – Practising Lawyer

MSWG is confident that the appointment of the independent directors with different professional backgrounds and experiences can be leveraged in guiding MSWG to achieve its vision, mission, goal and objectives.

In due course, additional independent directors will be appointed to replace the representatives from Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja and Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera.

MSWG is making the required efforts to ensure that it will not only achieve, but will also exceed the Key Performance Indicators (“KPIs”) as set out in its 5-year Business Plan endorsed by the Capital Market Development Fund. Various activities have been successfully carried out by MSWG to ensure that it can achieve its objectives to be effective in building credibility in its journey to become the premier service entity in enhancing shareholder activism and protecting minority interests.

Todate, the activities undertaken by MSWG are as follows :-

• Proxy Advisory & Voting Services

MSWG has taken pro-active action by purchasing shares in certain public-listed companies (“PLCs”). To-date, MSWG has a stake in 160 PLCs. This action is to ensure that MSWG has locus standi to attend shareholders’ meetings as corporate representative and participates actively as a registered shareholder to represent various stakeholders’ especially minority interest.

The purchase of shares in the selected PLCS is based on the following criteria :-

• Companies with issues raised by Minority Shareholders;

• Companies subject to action by the regulatory authorities;

• Investee companies of major Funds;

• Companies having a wide impact on the stakeholders;

• Companies of strategic National interest;

• Coverage of every sector; and

• Companies with various year-ends for better spreading of work throughout the whole year.

At the same time, MSWG will still continue to attend shareholders’ meetings by way of proxies from the minority shareholders.

As at 16 December 2005, MSWG had attended 87 AGMs/EGMs, exceeding our KPIs of 25 for 2005 by 66 or 264%.

Besides attending the shareholders’ meetings, MSWG represented minority shareholders in meetings with the Board/Management of public-listed companies to clarify issues relating to corporate governance.

• News/Interviews/Speaking Engagements/Articles/Media Commentaries

As at 16 December 2005, MSWG had produced 99 articles/media commentaries, exceeding our KPIs for articles/media commentaries of 25 for 2005 by 74 or 296%.

MSWG had participated in 23 speaking engagements either as a speaker or participants in the talks and seminars organised by third parties. MSWG had also attended various interviews by electronic media on topical issues.

• Website
MSWG is currently reviewing the website to improve its content in terms of presentation and at the same time to ensure that it is updated on a regular basis.

• Corporate Governance Screencard
This assignment is carried out in collaboration with Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) and research work has commenced. The Corporate Governance Screencard will be carried on 50 selected public-listed and is expected to be completed by January 2006.

• Dividend Survey
The Dividend Survey on selected 100 public-listed companies is carried out in collaboration with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UiTM). This assignment is expected to be completed by June 2006.

• Setting up of Institutional Shareholders Committee
MSWG is playing a leading role in the setting up of Institutional Shareholders Committee. The Inaugural Meeting was held in October 2005 which among other things, to determine the terms of reference for the Institutional Shareholders Committee and the formation of a Sub-Committee Working Group.

Finance

MSWG has received full disbursement for the year 2005 totaling RM 1.6 million from the Capital Market Development Fund. As at 31 October 2005, the total expenditure incurred by MSWG was RM 949,564 which is approximately 18.2% below the budgeted expenditure of RM 1,161,335 for the same period.

Conclusion

MSWG is confident that its presence does make a difference in enhancing shareholder activism and protecting the minority shareholders’ interest. MSWG, over the last few months, has been playing an active role and made positive impact on the capital market.

Lastly, MSWG welcomes any questions or/and comments from the media on its activities in ensuring that MSWG achieves its objectives effectively. Together, we will try to enhance the development of our capital market thereby making Malaysia a better place to live in.

ABDUL WAHAB JAAFAR SIDEK
Chief Executive Officer
Minority Shareholder Watchdog Group (MSWG)

Dated : 16 December 2005