11/15/2006

independent directors need to be independent

Independent Directors need to be independent The issue of Independent Directors and corporate governance is in the headline again. It will continue to be a problem if there is no political will to make sure that independent directors are really independent. The existence of independent directors is in conflict with their appointments to company boards. Why would companies want to appoint independent directors to watch over them? They would all go for compliant or friendly directors that will not rock the boat. What is badly needed is for an independent body to appoint independent directors to company boards, independent from the companies. I have proposed this and even volunteered my service to SIAS. My suggestion to David Gerald is to seek MAS or SGX authorisation for SIAS to be the independent body for this role. SIAS has all the reasons to ensure that independent directors are independent and will look after the interest of the companies and minority shareholders' interest. I am still available to take on this task if there is a real interest to pursue this concept. I have been waiting for almost two years on this matter. And things are getting uglier by the day.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Who need independent directors ??? All we need is LKY, LHL, LBY, HoJinx. They are the best ppl to run any org.