- CR awareness

A corporate social responsibility (CSR) survey was carried out in 2007 by Bursa Malaysia. The result was very disappointing. Only 4.5% of the sample size of 200 companies assessed were close to the international best practice benchmark. Datuk Yusli Muhamed Yusoff of Bursa Malaysia pointed out that "by and large companies perceive CR as acts of charity when it should be embraced holistically and practiced across several key dimensions of their business, such as the workplace, marketplace, community and environment".

The panel of judges for the StarBiz-Institute of Corporate Responsibility Malaysia Corporate Responsibility Awards concluded that CR and its objectives were not well understood as well as not planned or documented well. Certainly it is not due to lack of promotion on the part of the government agencies such as Bursa Malaysia, Securities Commission, Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM), the Prime Minister CSR Award, as well as professional bodies such ACCA, CIMA and our Malaysian Institute of Accountants.

So why is CR awareness still lacking despite active efforts? What say you?