KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 — The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has issued guidance for capital market participants (CMPs) today, outlining Covid-19 health and safety measures to be taken in planning and managing their return to operations at full capacity.

This follows the government’s announcement to restart selected economic activities from May 4, 2020 onwards.

The SC said the guidance aimed to guide the CMPs in developing and communicating clear internal standard operating procedures (SOP) on health and safety measures, in addition to the SOPs and directives issued by the National Security Council (NSC) and various ministries to minimise the risk of Covid-19 at their workplaces, with regards to dealings with their employees, agents and external parties.

“It covers the minimum requirements and additional measures covering three key areas, namely the workplace, business operations, and dealing with external parties to reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19 at the workplace,” it said in a statement today.

SC chairman Datuk Syed Zaid Albar said as an essential service, the capital market has been operating throughout the Movement Control Order, which began on March 18, 2020.

“However, the CMPs must strengthen their safety and hygiene procedures to at least comply with the SOPs issued by various authorities to create a safe environment for their employees, agents, customers and other external parties,” he said.

In the event of any inconsistencies between the guidance and any SOPs or directives from applicable authorities, the SOPs and directives from the applicable authorities shall prevail.

CMPs should also monitor the developments and guidance issued by the World Health Organisation, NSC, the Ministry of Health (MoH), and other authorities, and where appropriate reflect these in their SOPs, it said.

The regulator said CMPs should tailor their SOPs to their respective business operations and other relevant factors, and establish appropriate governance and monitoring processes, taking into consideration the complexity and size of their business operations, the number of branches and customers, governance structure and their workplace settings.

“To ensure proper accountability, CMPs are required to designate a dedicated person or persons to collate, monitor and report compliance with the SOPs across their respective organisations, including for each branch location.

CMPs are also required to report to the SC on the status of the health measures and controls of their business operations, as and when requested,” it said.

In addition, the regulator said CMPs are required to comply with other reporting requirements of the MoH and relevant authorities in relation to Covid-19.

The full guidance can be downloaded from the SC website at https://www.sc.com.my/covid-19/gn-sop and queries can be directed to [email protected]. — Bernama