KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia will continue to have a significant focus on corporate governance and disclosure to further build up the market.

Its Chief Executive Officer Datuk Tajuddin Atan said Bursa Malaysia has over a period of time strengthened the corporate governance framework under the Listing Requirements.

"We want our listed companies to appreciate the greater value that comes in underscoring corporate governance practices into the core of business operations. This creates good business sustainability," he said in his keynote address at the Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance 2012 seminar today.

He said Bursa Malaysia will also continue to focus on education, which is key towards the betterment of self and the market. "We will champion directors' education as I believe Malaysia needs to build a bigger pool of qualified and experienced directors," he said.

He added that the corporate governance is a shared responsibility and it is not the sole preserve of the regulators but the obligation of all participants to exercise greater care and responsibility in promoting value creation and sustainability through mutually-reinforcing efforts.

"It has long been observed that most companies tend to focus on the forms of corporate governance as opposed to the actual practices. While we have seen improvements, more needs to be done to build a strong culture of corporate governance within the company," he said.

Good governance goes beyond systems, processes and control as it is impossible to introduce rules that will govern all situations, he said.

"Instead, it is a culture of good ethics that must be learned, practised and internalised by the entire organisation," he said.

Meanwhile, president of Malaysian Institute of Corporate Governance Tan Sri Megat Najmuddin Megat Khas said he believed that improved corporate governance is the key objective of the regulatory framework in the securities market.

He said companies must demonstrate a strong commitment to the development and enforcement of rigorous standard of corporate governance.

"Good corporate governance should be in our culture and should not be treated as a mere rule-based compliance activity.

"Our economy will be stronger if corporate decisions are made with competence and integrity, and if shareholders and the public can appropriately assess the profitability and riskiness of corporations' business activities," he said.

He said good governance helps to prevent corporate failures that can have damaging social impact.

"In emerging marketplaces around the globe, good corporate governance can provide companies with competitive edge," he said.