Anti-bribery and Anti-Corruption Policy

Anti-bribery and Anti-Corruption Policy & Procedure

PURPOSE

The objective of Anti-Bribery & Corruption Policy and Procedure (“ABCPP”) is to ensure that all activities related to the Blue Archipelago Berhad (“the Company”) and its subsidiaries are carried out with integrity, systematic and efficient manner.

SCOPE

This ABCPP covers the management and maintenance of the company and its subsidiaries integrity matters involving the directors, employees and any other stakeholders / persons providing services to the Company and its subsidiaries including consultants, vendors, independent contractors, external agencies and / or any other party with a business relationship with the Company and its subsidiaries.

POLICY STATEMENTS

Blue Archipelago Berhad adopts a zero-tolerance approach towards bribery, corruption and abuse of power.

Blue Archipelago Berhad is committed to act professionally, fairly and with integrity in all of its business dealings and relationship.

Blue Archipelago Berhad resolves to:

a) uphold all laws relevant to countering bribery and corruptions including but not limited to Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (Amendment) Act 2018;
b) implement an Anti-Bribery Management System; and
c) undertake a periodic bribery and corruption risk assessment across its business to ensure that it has adequate procedures in place to address those risks.

Blue Archipelago Berhad prohibits all forms of bribery, corruption and abuse of power practices.

Bribery and corruption may take the form of anything of value, such as money, goods, services, property, privilege, employment position or preferential treatment. Blue Archipelago Berhad’s employee and its business associates shall not therefore, whether directly or indirectly, offer, give, receive or solicit any item of value, in the attempt to illicitly influence the decisions or actions of a person in a position of trust within an organisation, either for the intended benefit of company or the persons involved in the transaction.

The ABCPP applies equally to its business dealings with private and public sectors which shall include their directors, employees, agents and other appointed representatives and applies to all countries worldwide, without exception and without regard to regional customs, local practices or competitive conditions.

No employee or external party will suffer demotion, penalty or other adverse consequences in retaliation for refusing to pay or receive bribes or participate in other corruption act is listed below but not limited to:

a) Soliciting or asking or receiving bribe;
b) Offering or promising or giving bribe;
c) Forge or falsification of documents; and
d) Abuse of authority.

Introduction

The Company believes that integrity and fair dealing are essential assets of the Company and this should be reflected in all activities.

The Company takes a zero-tolerance approach to bribery and corruption and is committed to acting professionally, fairly and with integrity in all our business dealings and relationships wherever we operate and implementing and enforcing effective systems to counter corruption.

Blue Archipelago Berhad’s Commitment

The Company and its subsidiaries are committed to:

a) a zero-tolerance approach to any form of corruption, bribery, abuse of power and conflict of interest.
b) creating employees and business associates with high ethical value and integrity.
c) practicing fair, ethical and honest values towards our employees and business associates.
d) reviewing and implementing stringently all policies and by-laws to deter corrupt practices.

Referral

The Company will deal with any instance of suspected bribery or corruption seriously. Any actual instance will result in disciplinary action against those involved, up to and including termination of employment or contract, and reporting of those persons to relevant regulatory and enforcement agencies.

Charities, donations and sponsorships

a) Charities, donations and sponsorships are a part of the corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) performed by the Company.

b) CSR by the Company cannot be used to secure an improper business advantage or gaining favourable terms from that organization or its affiliates / connected parties in any other business agreements.

c) Charities, donations, sponsorships and CSR will not be considered for the following but not limited to:

i. Political organisation;
ii. Political office holder or candidate;
iii. Event relating to political organisation;
iv. Requester that have already received charity, donation, sponsorship or CSR from the company during the same year; and
v. In conjunction with, as part of or in relation to any bid, tender, contract renewal or prospective business relationship.

d) In providing donation, sponsorship and CSR, the Company will ensure that adequate step is taken to ensure it was given to the needy and have a valid charitable purpose. In ensuring this, the Company will conduct due diligence, establish selected criteria, conduct proper evaluation and analyse each application.

Political Contribution

a) The Company does not make or offer political contributions whether monetary or with something similar to individuals or political parties or other political organisations, either in Malaysia or overseas or candidates for public office.

b) The employees may choose to make personal political contributions as appropriate by law. Under no circumstances, however, will any employee be compensated or reimbursed in any way by the Company for a personal political contribution. The employees must however make it clear that their political affiliations are those of their own.

c) The employees are prohibited from acting on the below:-

i. using their position with the Company to try to influence any other person (whether or not employed by Company) to make political contributions or to support politicians or their parties in any country;
ii. make any contribution or incur any expenditure using Company’s resources to benefit any political campaign, party or politician in any country; and
iii. the use of Company’s facilities, equipment and resources for any political campaign or party functions.

d) Any political contribution made on behalf of the Company by the employees will be deemed as a violation of this guideline and other relevant company internal policies.

Facilitation payments

a) A facilitation payment is a type of bribe and corruption. The Company is not practising the facilitation payments to or from any third party in doing it business. A common example is where an employee is given money or goods to perform (or speed up the performance of) an existing duty.

b) The Company adopts a strict policy of disallowing the use of facilitation payments in its business. Facilitation payment is a payment or other provision made personally to an individual in control of a process or decision. It is given to secure or expedite the performance of a routine or administrative duty or function.

Conflict of Interest

a) Conflict of Interest (“COI”) arise in situations where there is personal interest that could be considered to have potential interference with objectivity in performing duties or exercising judgment on behalf of the Company.

b) Employee (including his/her immediate family members – parents, siblings, spouse & children) should avoid situations in which personal interest could conflict with their professional obligations or duties.

c) Employee must not use their position, official working hours, the Company’s resources and assets, or information available to them for personal gain or to the Company’s disadvantage.

d) All employees including Senior Management and Board of Directors are required to declare their assets, interest and mandatory directorship declaration by all staff and immediate family members on an annual basis.

Recruitment of Employees

a) The Company provides equal opportunity for any qualified and competent individual to be employed by the Company from various multicultural and multiracial backgrounds. The recruitment of employee should be based on approved selection criteria to ensure that only the most qualified and suitable candidates are employed. This is crucial to ensure that no element of corruption is involved in the hiring of employee.

b) In line with this, the following proper background checks shall be conducted but not limited to, in order to ensure that the potential employee has not been convicted in any bribery or corruption cases:

i. Employee Screening
The Company will conduct a screening on existing employee and individual who will be employed by the company.

ii. Security Screening
The Company shall conduct security screening on corruption activities i.e., eSTK (e-Sistem Tapisan Keutuhan) from Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)’s record and other relevant security checks on all employees on a need basis which the findings shall be reported to the Management. New employees shall only be appointed upon clearance of security screening assessment.

Credit Tip-Off Services Check

a) The Company shall assess all employees (existing or in-coming) credit standing and indebtedness via Credit Tip-Off Services (“CTOS”) on periodic basis and provide information on such credit standing as and when required to the management or any relevant authorities for purposes of investigation into potential inconsistencies between employees’ affordability and living standards.

b) Management reserves the right to take all necessary action permissible under the law in dealing with employees that have CTOS records which may pose a threat to his/her execution of duties within the Company.

c) New employees shall only be appointed upon clearance of CTOS information.

Procurement Policy

a) Procurement has been widely acknowledged as a high-risk area in the operations of any organisation due to its vulnerability to fraud and corruption.

b) In ensuring the above, the company shall introduce best practices as follows;

i. Due Diligence
The Company shall conduct due diligence/screening process on prospective contractors and suppliers.

ii. Integrity Pact

a) The integrity pact implementation is to enhance transparency which shall indirectly eradicate corrupt practices. Integrity Pact comprise of a set of declaration process by the Company’s employees, procurement committee as well as Company’s vendor and supplier involved in the tendering process.

b) The declaration provides that all individual and organisation involved in the tendering process are prohibited to engage in any transaction relating to bribery and corruption. It also underlines the measure and consequences that should be taken if the integrity pact is breached.

iii. Vendor Code of Conduct (VCOC)

a) While vendors are independent entities from Company, the business practices and actions of a vendor, when conducting business with or on behalf of the Company, may significantly affect and reflect company. Company shall establish conduct standards for its business relationships that reflect our shared values of efficient, excellence, innovative and mutual.

b) The VCOC shall apply to all suppliers appointed by any Company’s function, business or individual working on behalf of Company, contractors of the company and to any person(s) appointed by them in any capacity to deliver the goods or perform any part of the services, including their employees, agents, suppliers and sub-contractors (“their representative”). The Company expects its vendors to share and embrace the Company’s commitment to regulatory compliance.

Whistleblowing Policy

a) The Company encourages openness and transparency in its commitment to the highest standard of integrity and accountability.

b) The Company encourage directors, employees, external parties and member of public to disclose on any wrongdoing in relation to the Company as early as possible and without fear. This is to enable the Company to deal with the issue at early stage to limit any potential damage it may cause.

c) The whistleblowing policy is crafted to ensure each disclosure within the coverage of this policy is attended appropriately, and the whistle-blower shall be notified accordingly. As well as a strategy against malpractice and act as a deterrent to those who may be considering an illegal, improper or unethical practice.

d) The Company pledges to protect the directors and employees that make a disclosure in good faith and without malice from possible reprisals or victimisation. This is to ensure that both the whistle-blower and the alleged wrongdoer would be given a fair treatment.

No Gift Policy

The Company has adopted a No Gift Policy whereby, subject only to certain narrow exceptions (Corporate Gift, festive season gift). All employees including Senior Management and Board of Directors are prohibited from directly or indirectly receiving or providing gifts from customer and any other external parties for the employees’ personal benefit or for the benefit of others which related to the employees including Senior Management and Board of Directors.

Entertainment & Hospitality Policy

The Company has adopted an Entertainment & Hospitality Policy whereby, Company’s directors and employees may be allowable from directly or indirectly receiving or providing entertainment & hospitality from or to customer and any other external parties.

Business Associates

a) All business associates (including external providers such as consultants, advisors, and agents) acting on behalf of Company are required to comply with ABCPP, the Company’s Code of Conduct, and all other policies as it relates to them.

b) In circumstances where the Company retains controlling interest, such as in certain joint venture agreements, business associates are required to adhere to ABCPP and the Company’s Code of conduct. Where company does not have controlling interest, associates are encouraged to comply the same.

c) Due diligence should also be carried out with regards to any business associates intending to act on the Company’s behalf as an agent or in other representative roles, to ensure that the entity is not likely to commit an act of bribery or corruption in the course of its work with the Company.

d) The extent of the due diligence should be based on a bribery and corruption risk assessment. Due diligence may include a search through relevant databases, checking for relationships with public officials, self-declaration, and documenting the reasons for choosing one particular business associate over another. The results of the due diligence process must be documented, retained for at least seven (7) years and produced on request by the custodian of the process.

e) The Company shall include standard clauses in all contracts with business associates enabling the Company to terminate the contract in the event that bribery or an act of corruption has been proved to occur. Additional clauses may also be included for business associates acting on company’s behalf where a more than minor bribery risk has been identified.

Reporting and Consequences of Breach

a) There are two (2) primary avenues to raise concern if becoming aware of or suspect a breach of the ABC policy and this procedure by Directors or employees of Company:

i. Whistleblowing channels; and
ii. Direct to the Focal Person

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