Tuesday, June 23, 2009

The good, the bad & the ugly

Singapore: ATTORNEY-General Walter Woon on Tuesday cautioned against over-regulation in the name of good corporate governance.

Professor Woon said when times were tough 'the sins of the past catch up with us and then there are calls for fixing, for regulation'.

He pointed out that businessmen need some flexibility to run their businesses.

'The last thing they need is a commissar standing by their side looking over their shoulders and telling them this is what they have to do,' he said.

Speaking on Tuesday at a book launch, Professor Woon said there had to be checks and balances, but we 'have to be careful not to overreact'.

He claimed problems today were caused partly because 'certain corporate managers came out with more perhaps than just a fistful of dollars and this leads to distortion of corporate governance'.

The Companies Act was due to be revamped and, he said, all views would be considered. Professor Woon noted that the Society of Directors provided a useful forum for those involved in the practice of corporate governance.

He said the ultimate sanction was jail and the prosecution will 'not be shy' to ask for this in extreme cases.

Professor Woon said that despite codes of conduct and best practices 'ultimately it really comes down to honesty'.

'There will never be a perfect code of governance as long as businessmen are willing to bend the rules for a few dollars more. But that doesn't mean we won't stop trying,' he added.

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