Datuk Johan Raslan - The Man who was lobbying very hard to be the next Chairman of the SC

Datuk Johan Raslan, the Executive Chairman of PwC, is an accomplished man. And until Raja Petra Kamaruddin, or RPK as many of us call him, decided to highlight one of the previous postings here in his online news portal Malaysia Today, Johan was lobbying very hard to be appointed as the next Chairman of the Securities Commission.

The poor man was seen having a quiet drink at La Bodega the same evening the posting appeared in Malaysia Today, pondering over how close he came to adding the coveted position of Chairman of the SC to his long list of accomplishments. 

Datuk Johan is a champion of Corporate Governance, and has spoken extensively on the subject over the years.

Here he is seen with the Chief Regulatory Officer of Bursa Malaysia and  the CEO of the Minority Shareholder Watchdog Group amongst others.

In this post we first mentioned Mr Manohar Benjamin Johnson (MBJ) and spoke of a deal that saw his appointment as Director of the Audit Oversight Board under the Securities Commission. We ask Johan how he reconciles the fact that MBJ, or his 'lackey' if we were not to put too fine a point on it, will be providing oversight on all other audit firms while overlooking the 'misdeeds' and 'misconducts' of PwC; with the principles of sound Corporate Governance such as transparency, independence and related party transactions?

MBJ will return to a plum position in PwC after his contract with the Audit Oversight Board (AOB) ends. This was part of the deal agreed upon prior to his appointment to the AOB. (Why else would MBJ have taken a significant paycut to join the AOB? He was already in a 'significant' profit sharing term with PwC.)

We have here some questions for Johan Raslan, taken from the PwC global website page on code of conduct, 

1. Is it against PwC or professional standards?

2. Does it feel right?

3. Is it legal?

4. Will it reflect negatively on you or PwC?

5. Who else could be affected by this (others in PwC, clients,

you, etc.)?

6. Would you be embarrassed if others knew you took this

course of action?

7. Is there an alternative action that does not pose an

ethical conflict?

8. How would it look in the newspapers?

9. What would a reasonable person think?

10. Can you sleep at night?

How will Johan Raslan answer the above when he ponders the questions below, in addition to the curious appointment of MBJ to the AOB:-

The brazenness and the impunity with which the Firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers has been registered as an Auditing Firm under the Audit Oversight Board on the 1st of April 2010.


1. Registration of PwC was a legal impossibility that was done on the very day of the setup of the AOB

2. The mechanism to collect the fees was only brought into effect on the 15th of April, making the registration on the 1st of April very improper.

3. As scandalous as the first two points are, the fact that they have been allowed to stand despite the numerous questions raised, makes the registration even more brazen.

4.  The forms for the registration were only submitted around the 14th of April, making the earlier approval a physical impossibility as well.

The other champion of Corporate Governance, and current Chairman of the Securities Commission, Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar has not explained on what basis she employed MBJ as the Director of the AOB, and one wonders if there can ever be a reasonable answer to that question.

The PwC Global website has a mechanism where information can be given so they can go after the likes of Johan Raslan.

. Those who violate the Code or PwC policies and procedures
will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including
dismissal. Disciplinary measures will also apply to anyone
who directs or approves infractions or has knowledge
of them and does not promptly move to correct them (PwC Global Code Of Conduct)