UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA PERCEPTION OF SIME DARBY BERHAD'S EMPLOYEES ON WHISTLE BLOWING WITHIN THE COMPANY.
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UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA
PERCEPTION OF SIME DARBY BERHAD'S
EMPLOYEES ON WHISTLE BLOWING WITHIN
THE COMPANY.
NOORHANA FAIZURA BINTI MARHAN
Applied research project submitted in partial fulfilment
for the degree of
Master in Forensic Accounting and Financial Criminology
Faculty of Accountancy
December 2012PEf ,PL ST·:~K.ft.}\ 1\l
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COPYRIGHT © UiTM
LolcasiCandidate's Declaration
I declare that the work in this applied research was carried out in accordance with the
regulations of Universiti Teknologi MARA. It is original and is the result of my own
work, unless otherwise indicated or acknowledged as referenced work. This research has
not been submitted to any other academic institution or non-academic institution for any
other degree or qualification.
In the event that my applied research is found to violate the conditions mentioned above,
I voluntarily waive the right of conferment of my degree and agree to be subjected to the
disciplinary rules and regulations ofUniversiti Teknologi MARA
Name of Candidate: Noorhana Faizura Marhan
Candidate's ID No.: 2010209526
Programmed: Master In Forensic Accounting And Financial Criminology
Faculty: Faculty of Accountancy
Thesis Title: Perception of Sime Darby Berhad's employees on
whistle blowing within the company
Signature of Candidate:
Date:
COPYRIGHT © UiTMPerception ~f Sime Darby Berhad's employe~s on whistle blowing wit~in the company ] 20 ~ 2
ABSTRACT
Sime Darby Berhad 's employees hold a big responsibility in their organisations to prevent, deter
and detect corporate wrongdoings as they are close to each other and know the operation better
'· .
than anyone else; however, the responsibility towards internal whistle blowing intentions has
been very much neglected. Although there are extensive researches on the whistle blowing
showing the effectiveness of the whistle blow program, the research on intention of internal
employees in Malaysia is still insufficient. This study examines internal whistle blowing among
Sime Darby Berhad's employees using three independent cases. A survey was mailed to the
seven divisions to investigate the demographic and individual factors that could influence them
in likelihood to blow the whistle. The results show that the likelihood for Sime Darby Berhad
employees to internal whistle blow was only significant on the job position. The study also
examines other non demographic factors such as the seriousness of the situation to the likelihood
to whistle blowing. The result indicates that the more serious of the wrong doing, the likelihood
to blow the whistle is high. However further study found that it is depend on the situation such as
chances of demoted or get fired, promotion and sufficient evidence.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Special thanks goes to my supervisor, Dr Anuar bin Nawawi. The support, supervision and ideas
that he gave truly a big help in the progression and completion of the applied research.
Many thanks also go to all lectures of Master in Forensic Accounting and Financial Criminology
courses for the knowledge and guidance. Without them I might not be able to complete this
course.
Not forget, great appreciation goes to my colleagues in Master of Forensic Accounting and
Financial Criminology course for the motivation and support during the completion of the
applied research. Special thanks to Sime Darby Berhad's employees for the support and the
complete the survey questionnaire.
I also would like to thanks to by beloved parents, siblings and friends. Last but not least, many
thanks goes to Encik Ahmad Faiz Azmi for the encouragement and support that help me to go
through tough time during completion of the applied research and the course.
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COPYRIGHT © UiTMTABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER CONTENTS PAGE
CANDIDATE'S DECLARATION
ABSTRACT ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS iv
LIST OF TABLES ; ' vii
LIST OF FIGURES viii
1 INTRODUCTION
1.0 Preamble 1
1.1 Motivation of The Study 9
1.2 Problem Statement 10
1.3 Research Questions 10
1.4 Research Objectives 11
1.5 Data Collection Approach 11
1.6 Research Contributions 12
1.7 Proposed Chapter 12
2 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
2.0 History of Sime Darby Berhad 14
2.1 Mission, Vision & Objectives of the Corporate
15
Group Governance Department of Sime Darby
Berhad
2.2 The Group Board Governance Structure 16
IV
COPYRIGHT © UiTM2.3 Boards of Corporate Governance in Flagship
18
Subsidiaries within the Group of companies
2.4 Role of Sime Darby Berhad's Board Committees 19
2.5 Structure of the Governance and Audit Committee 20
2.6 Objectives of the Governance and Audit Committee 21
2.7 Group Corporate Assurance within Governance
22
and Audit Committee
2.8 Sime Darby Berhad's Group Policies and
24
Authorities
2.9 Reporting Wrongdoings 24
3 RESEARCH ISSUES
3.0 Preamble 28
3.1 Methodology 29
3.2 Participants 29
3.3 Survey questionnaire 30
3.4 Interviews of ten selected respondent 33
3.5 Measurement of variables 34
3.6 Method for data analysis 34
4 RESULTS OF FINDINGS
4.0 Data profile 35
4.1 Findings on research 38
4.2 Consequences of reporting wrongdoings 42
4.3 Current perception of business culture at Sime
43
Darby Berhad
v
COPYRIGHT © UiTM4.4 Interview results 48
5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.0 Conclusion 50
5 .1 Recommendations 51
5.2 Limitations of The Study 52
BffiLIOGRAPHY 55
APPENDICES
Appendix 1: Sample of Survey Questionnaire 62
VI
COPYRIGHT © UiTMLIST OF TABLES
TABLE NO. PAGE
Table 4.0(a) Profile of respondents 35
Table 4.0(b) Analysis of response for the case 1, case 2 and 36
case 3
Table 4.1(a) Analysis of response of internal whistle blowing 38
Table 4.1(b) Analysis correlation of seriousness of the case and 39
intention to whistle blow
Table 4.2 Core value of Sime Darby Berhad 44
VII
COPYRIGHT © UiTMLIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE NO. PAGE
Figure 1.0 Research of whistle blowing behavior 3
Figure 1.1 Whistle blowing process 5
Figure 2.0 Structure of the Group Board Governance 17
Figure 2.1 Flagship Subsidiaries Board Structure 19
Figure 2.2 Governance and Audit Committee Structure 21
Figure 2.3 Group Corporate Assurance Structure 23
Figure 2.4 Whistle blowing process at Sime Darby Berhad 27
Figure 4.0 Percentage of respondents indicating that a 41
particular concern would affect their decision
to report wrongdoing to some or a great extent
Figure 4.1 Percentage of respondents indicating a 42
particular consequences would be important to
their decision to report wrongdoing
Figure 4.2 Total respondents indicating business culture 46
that supports whistle blowing at Sime Darby
Berhad
Figure 4.3 Percentage of respondents indicating 47
respondents believe on the protections against
reprisal
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CHAPTER!
INTRODUCTION
1.0 Preamble
An effective internal whistle-blo'Ying system increases the likelihood of internally
reporting wrongdoings (Miceli and Near, 1994), and allowing management to avoid the
negative costs of external whistle-blowing that may be highly damaging to a company' s
reputation (Paul and Townsend, 1996; Miceli et al., 2009). Bowen et al. (2010) provide
empirical evidence that firms subject to external financial whistle-blowing events
experience lower market-adjusted five-day stock price reaction, more earnings
restatement, shareholder lawsuits, negative future operating and stock return
performance. Therefore, companies that implement effective internal whistle-blowing
policies are likely to reap both financial benefits such as increasing chances of early fraud
detection, and non financial benefits such as enhancing the well-being of the organization
Organizations in the United States lose about five percent of their annual revenues,
equivalent to $652 billion, to fraud (Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, 2006).The
huge loss lead to the notion that organizations and their stakeholders need to monitor for
those that may engage in white-collar crimes and other unethical practices within the
organizations. A study conducted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (2006)
also found that most fraud detection case depended heavily from tips by the employees.
However, another survey on workplace ethics (Hudson Employment Index, 2005) shows
that among the 31 percent of employees that have witnessed co-workers engage in ethical
misconduct, only 52 percent reported the misconduct to the authorities. In addition,
Miceli and Near (2005) argues that the most effective stakeholders in reducing the
occurrence of unethical behaviors in organizations are the employees of the
organizations.
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= = = == = = = ==·= .-
1.0.1 Whistle blowing as a planned behavior
In general, whistle blowing has been defmed as: "the disclosure by the organization
members (former or current) of illegal, immoral, or illegitimate practices under the
control of their employers, to persons or organizations that may be able to effect action"
(Near & Miceli, 1985). The defmition acknowledges that whistle blowing is an action
that leads to the exposure of unethical behaviors. Many companies that went through
bankruptcy are exposed to their unethical behavior such as misuse of power, money
laundering, or reframing of the account statements for the benefit of oneself or the
company without taking into account the benefit of the stakeholders. Whistle blowing
involves the employees who are trusted enough to not report any illegal, immoral, or
illegitirnates practices nestled within the organization (Ponnu, Naidu and Zamri, 2007).
Those who take the step in acting as the whistle blowers often received threats especially
when the accusation is levies against those with influence.
Review on various whistle-blowing literatures indicates that research on whistle blowing
can be largely divided into as follows:-
1. Observation of wrong doings (e.g Miceli & Near, 1992)
11. Motivational or experience of the actual act of whistle-blowing (e.g. Brewer &
Seiden, 1998; Dworkin & Baucus, 1998; Miceli & Near, 1988)
m. Process of whistle-blowing (e.g. Dozier & Miceli, 1985; Near & Miceli, 1985)
1v. Factors that predict retaliation against whistle-blowers (e.g. Miceli & Near, 2002;
Rothschild & Miethe, 1999).
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= . . . - = ==o=!b= =
c=·
Figure 1 offers an illustration of the extant research of whistle-blowing broadly studied.
Situational
characteristics that
facilitate whistle-
blowing
Motivational
of the actual Reaction to
Observation ______. act of Actual act of whistle-
of wrong whistle- whistle blowing
doings blowing blowing including
retaliation
Figure LO: Research ofwhistle blowing behavior
(Source: Abhijeet et al: Making sense of whistle-blowing's Antecedents: Learning from
research on identity and ethic program)
1.0.2 Human dilemma
Most organizations are fully aware of the misconducts that occur within the company but
take a soft-handed approach attending to the problems, There are times when the
whistleblowers find themselves sympathize with the perpetrators thus became silent
about the misconducts. However, for those who are concerned about corruption and
misconduct within or by an organization, they have four courses of actions that can be
taken:
1. To stay silent,
n. To blow the whistle internally,
m. To blow the whistle outside to the authorities or the media, or
tv. To leak the information anonymously.
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1.0.3 Consequences of whistle blowing
Dellaportas et al (2005) warns that while whistle-blowers are considered heroes by the
public, within the organization, the whistle-blower is considered a traitor who has been
disloyal to the organization and his or her colleagues. Rossouw and Van Vuuren (2004)
agree that although legal protection is an avenue that can be visited by the whistle-
blower, it has a devastating effect, especially when it results in losing one's job.
Dellaportas et al. (2005) cited exatpples in history where whistle-blowers were penalized
for their actions by: some form of harassment, lower performance evaluations,
demotions, punitive transfers and dismissal. Whistle-blowers are also not accepted by
management and colleagues and treated as troublemakers, which in tum hinders future
employment opportunities. Nelson and Trevino (2007) cautioned employees on deciding
how to raise ethical concerns in order to avoid being branded as someone with poor
judgment. Other risks the whistle-blower can face include disciplinary hearings for
insubordination, claims of disloyalty, accusations of whistle-blowing for personal gain,
loss of friendships and loss of respect for the ethnicity in whose interest the whistle-
blower acted (Naude, 2005). Figures 1.1 illustrates whistle blowing process.
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Whistle blower reports·to line manager
~
Line manager investigates allegations with help of special team
~
Team investigates and interviews relevant staff to produce a report findings
.
~
Senior management considers report and makes a decision. Decision
regarding action against:
~ ~
Wrongdoer for fraud or Whistle blower for false
corruption allegation
Figure 1.1: Whistle blowing process
(Source: Royal Kingdom (2007)
Camerer (1996) states that the culture of the organization determines whether the whistle-
blower will be considered as a wrongdoer, or as a do-gooder, regardless of whether the
whistle has been blown through internal channels or, as a last res011, through external
channels. Dellaportas et al. (2005) regards the negative effects ofwhistle-blowing for the
organization, besides bad publicity, as a negative reputation, prosecution, decreased
profits and the demoralization of the workforce. The ramifications for both the employee
and the organization are serious, and procedures and practices need to be in place to help
smooth the process.
According to Wood (2004), whistle-blowers may face fierce resistance and extreme
levels of disapproval inside the organization when they attempt to expose unethical and
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suspect behavior. Whistle-blowers may be discredited by transferring them to undesirable
duties or shifts. Kaplan and Kleiner (2000) cited that whistle blowers often face different
forms of retaliation, for example by:
1. putting the spotlight on the whistle-blower;
11. manufacturing a poor record;
m. being threatened to silence, isolation or humiliation;
IV. setting them up for failure;
v. prosecution;
v1. eliminating their jobs, or
vn. paralysing their careers.
1.0.4 Silence culture
Early definitions of silence equated it with "loyalty'' and the assumption that nothing was
wrong if concerns were not being voiced. But researchers today have shown that a
climate of silence can work against desired organizational outcomes (Aylsworth, 2008).
The employees are reluctant to talk about the issues that can be interpreted wrongly by
the managers and seen as a threat (Morrison, Milliken 2003). However it does not mean
that they are blind to the problems; they discuss about them within a private setting
(Morrison, Milliken 2000). They feel compelled to remain silent; due to the consequences
of whistle blowing, silence is the option of least risk both for the individual and the
organizations.
Some whistle blowers realize that his or her facts could be mistaken or that there may be
an innocent explanation. Where colleagues or competitors are also aware of the suspect
conduct but choose stay silent, the whistleblower will wonder why he or she should speak
out. Based on past bad experiences of the employees who have worked several years for
the organization, they choose not report the alleged misconduct. Morrison, Milliken 2000
further explained that newer employees take the experienced employees as an example
and choose to remain silent. This is named in literature as " learned helplessness" .
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Employees think there is no possibility to change the undesired organizational conditions
and therefore they refuse to take an action. They lose their self confidence thus feel
inadequate and helpless. Rather than resisting, they accepted and nmmalized the
undesired organizational circumstances. The uncontrollable situations can cause
employees to have disruptions in motivation, emotion, and learning. Motivational
disruption is to lose motivation and willingness to change the undesired issues such as
labor relations. Labor relations are adversarial and in cultures where corruption is
common, the whistleblower is likely to assume that he or she will be expected to prove
that the corrupt practice is occurring, rather than see those in authority investigate and
deal with the matter. Emotional disruption is the loss of self esteem, depression and
stress. For example, they may feel responsible for any action that may be taken against
the wrongdoer even though he or she has no control over the consequences. Learning
disruption is to feel alienated to the job and the goals of the organization. Alienation
occurs as a response to the certain situations when a person accepts societal expectations
that are cmmter to the person's true goals, feelings or desires (Gale Encyclopedia, 2001).
Even if a potential whistle-blower thinks that the alarm should be sounded, he will
consider his private interests before taking action. Unless the whistleblower believes
there is a good chance that something will be done to address the wrong doing, it is
almost inevitable that he will stay silent. Without reassurance to the contrary, the
whistleblower will fear reprisals in the form of harassment or dismissal. The
whistleblower may also suspect rightly or wrongly that the corruption involves,
implicates, or is condoned by those in a higher position within or out of the organization,
in which case he fears that the matter will simply be covered up. Even where these
obstacles are overcome or reduced, the whistleblower fears that he or she will be labeled
as disloyal by his colleagues whose respect and trust hey may want or need in future.
Silence witnesses who stand by but do nothing are also known as bystanders because
whistle blowing may be the source of controversies. When comparing Western to Eastern
corporate cultures, there is big gap pertaining to the existence of whistle blowing. For
example, in the Philippines, the existence of a whistle blower is a good sign that promises
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anticorruption but the promotion of the said practice is unpopular in the political, social,
cultural, and legal structures of other countries (AIM-Hills Governance Center, 2006).
For other countries, whistle blowing can be disturbing in an institutional sense because, at
the fundamental level, it challenges the settled reporting structures and relationships
within organizations. In fact, it is surprising that many feel that whistle blowing is an
unwise career move. The results ofthis culture of silence are that:
1. responsible employers are denied the opportunity to protect their interests;
n. unscrupulous competitors, managers or workers are given reason to believe that
'anything goes fine'
111. society focuses more on compensation and punishment than on prevention and
deterrence.
1.0.5 Risk of non whistle blowing
When a report on a wrongdoing is made to the supervisor, or an officer whose position is
higher in the organization structure and capable to commence appropriate action to deal
or rectify the matter swiftly, such action is beneficial as well as important for the
company as it will impede the ongoing fraud or wrongdoing from continuing. The
implications will be irreparable if wrongdoings are not reported or worse if it is being
covered or 'tolerated' as the organization do not subscribe to a whistle blowing policy.
Staying silent is a fa~niliar option for employees who discovers fraud or wrongdoings for
fear of risks and reprisals, unless there is a clear process to raise concerns or report with
assurance that they will be afforded protection against retaliation. The damaging
implication when employees stay silent can be seen in the Siemens bribery case that was
uncovered by regulators in 2006 where it was discovered that employees of Siemens had
been participating in a systematic bribery for contracts in multiple millions of dollars per
incident mostly to secure procureme ts from government officials. Siemens' pattern of
bribery was unprecedented in terms of scale and geographical widespread that involved
4,283 payments for 332 projects around the world, totaling bribes in the sum ofUSD1 .4
billion. One of the key perpetrators, Mr. Reinhard Siekaczek who was the former
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accountant of Siemens AG, was anested for being responsible in overseeing annual
bribery budget in the amount of about $40 - 50 million for 2002 -2006. The Siemens
bribery episode is a striking evidence of an environment where employees have "become
paralyzed and compliant". It can be seen that when no one reports, the wrongdoing
evolves to become an accepted norm within the organization and became part of their
operations. As a result, the employees are accustomed to such wrongdoing and there is no
reason for anyone to raise concern thus, kept silence for many years.
An investigation was launched iri 2006 where Siemens had provided full cooperation to
SEC with the implementation of an amnesty plan which was offered to all employees
(except for 300 employees in the company' s top management team) to report and provide
information on the bribery catastrophe.
At the end of the investigation that was completed in 2008, Siemens AG was prosecuted
and imposed a hefty fme in the sum of USD1.6 billion by the SEC. Subsequent to the
prosecution; Siemens immediately implemented various control systems for fraud
detection. In ensuring swift mobilization of their ethical and compliance department
Siemens implemented a program that requires its employees to review Siemens'
corporate code of conduct and thereafter, compel its employees to sign a statement that
they understand and are committed to abide the provisions of the code.
1.1 Motivation of study
Whistle-blowing scandals have rocked the corporate environment in recent years. A few
mentionable cases are the Enron case and the Woldcom case. These cases have shown
that the ability and the awareness of the employees or the whistleblower in bringing
forward the complaint or the wrongdoer have brought them to justice to, and motivated
other employees to follow the same path.
Malaysians should take heed that the country is now in the stage of an ethical learning
curve, and we need to embrace good ethical behaviors. After a number of fmancial fraud
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and unethical behavior cases, individuals are encouraged to report any breaches and signs
of frauds quickly to p revent them from being transformed into an incurable disease that
would gradually lead to the destruction of the organization. To put things in perspectives,
it is important for Malaysia and organization like Sime Darby Berhad to have a whistle-
blowing policy tha o utlines reporting processes. Thus, this paper will look at how Sirne
Darby Berhad's emp loyees intend to blow the whistle in order to achieve sustainable
future
1.2 Problem Statement
Therefore, whistle b lowing is relevant to all organizations and individuals. This is
because every business and every public body faces the risk of things going wrong
through unknowingly harboring a corrupt individual. As Sirne Darby Berhad's mission is
to sustain the future, c orruption will destroy the organization's reputation. Employees of
the organization play an important role, yet these people, who are best placed to sotmd
the alarm or blow the whistle at early stage, also have most to lose if they do. Thus, my
focus is to investigat e influence factors that contribute to the willingness of Sime Darby
Berhad 's employ ees to bring the matter forward.
1.3 Research Que tions
The main purpos e of this study is to investigate the willingness of Sime Darby Berhad
employees in compr ehending whistle blowing. Thus, this study addresses the following
Issues:
1. In order to maintain a sustainable future, what are the core values and business
culture at Sime Darby Berhad which influence whistle blowing process?
11. Does gender and position influence the likelihood of employees at Sime Darby
Berhad to blow the whistle?
111. What are other non demographic factors that contribute to the willingness of
employees at Sime Darby Berhad to whistle blow?
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IV. What is the perception of employees on the risk of engaging in the act of whistle
blowing in Sime Darby Berhad?
1.4 Research Objectives
In order to achieve the aim of the study, the objectives of the study are as follows:
1. To identify the core values and business culture at Sime Darby which influence
the whistle blowing process in order to maintain a sustainable future.
11. To examine whether gender and position influence the likelihood of employees at
Sime Darby Berhad to whistle blow.
111. To explore other non demographic factors that contributes to the willingness of
employees at Sime Darby Berhad to whistle blow.
IV. To investigate the perception of employees on the risk of engaging in the act of
whistle blowing at Sime Darby Berhad.
1.5 Data Collection Approach
This study will examine the willingness of Sime Darby employees to blow the whistle. A
survey questionnaire will be distributed to examine the environment of willingness of the
employees to blow the whistle in combating unethical behaviour in the organization and
report it through provided channels. Also, interviews with selected employees in the
Finance Department and officers in Group Corporate Assurance will be conducted in
order to understand the process and working culture in Sime Darby Berhad in reporting
the wrong doings.
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1.6 Research Contributions
Former Malaysia Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said:
"There is a popular belief that corruption is only fought if many more people are charged
in court, I believe the punitive aspect is important, but before punitive action is taken,
wrongdoings must be reported and properly investigated."
The above statement shows the· importance of the role of employees in reporting the
wrong doings. This research will show whether Sime Darby Berhad' s employees are
ethical in carrying their duties as employees in Sime Darby Berhad and measure their
levels in ethical reporting. The fmdings of the study would help Group Corporate
Governance of Sime Darby Berhad to understand the working culture in the company so
they can identify the areas of their governance that need improvement such as protection
to the employee that blow the whistle because unless the culture, practice and law that
indicate that it is safe and acceptable for them to raise a genuine concern about
wrongdoing, they will assume that the risk of victimization such as losing or damaging
their job and career as the consequences of their act.
1.7 Proposed Chapters
Chapter one of the studies provides a general introduction on the entire study and
justification for the choice of the theoretical framework adopted in the research. It
includes the background, motivation for the study, significance of the study, problem
statement and research questions, the approach method of the study and research
objectives. The research method and literature information gathering also provided as
w ell as the terminology used for the purpose of the study.
Chapter two provides background of Sime Darby Berhad and gives an overview of the
Group Corporate Governance organization structure and its role and responsibility. This
chapter also gives an overview of the legislative measures to facilitate protected
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-- --
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authorized disclosure on wrong doing in Sime Darby Berhad namely Whistle blowing
Policy (GP A B5) and codes of conduct in promoting of ethical behavior taken up by
Sime Darby Berhad.
Chapter three provides an overview on the Qatar and Bakun cases. This chapter also
provide methodology of the study on the variables that influencing the ethical
environment in the organization especially in Sime Darby Berhad namely gender, job
position and seriousness of the situation that can affect the likelihood employees at Sime
Darby Berhad to whistle blow.
Chapter four provides results and fmdings on variables that influencing the whistle
blower in making disclosures on wrongdoing and certain ethical concerns that related to
the whistle blower. The data analyzed using comparative mean, T-Test and Pearson
Correlation.
Chapter five presents on a conclusion and recommendation on how to deal with the
whistle blowing in the organization, the effects of the whistle blowing on the
organizational image and how the whistle blowing can be managed. Include in this
chapter also is the limitation of the study.
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CHAPTER2
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
2.0 History of Sime Darby Berhad
In January 2007, the three Malaysian giants namely Sime Darby, Guthrie and Golden
Hope merged into the vehicle entity named Synergy Drive. On 27 November 2007,
Synergy Drive was renamed Sime Darby Berhad. The merged entity of three Malaysian
corporatiQns is a diversified Malaysian multinational with a workforce of 104,300
employees. Its core businesses are plantations, property, motor, heavy equipment and
energy & utilities which are expected to benefit from continued population growth and
economic development within the Asia Pacific region and the global economy. Sime
Darby's non-core business units such as healthcare, insurance, and home products are
grouped under its Allied Products and Services division (APS). Subsidiaries under Allied
Products and Services division (APS) include Sime Darby Medical Centre Subang Jaya
(formerly known as Subang Jaya Medical Centre) (healthcare), Sime Alexander Forbes
(insurance), and Dtmlopillo Malaysia Sdn Bhd (home products). It also has a controlling
share in the supermarket chain Tesco in Malaysia. Sime Darby is a multinational
company, with more than 60 percent of the group's revenue corning fi:om abroad.
As a result of the merger in year 2007, Sime Darby became one of the world's leading
listed oil palm plantation groups. Sime Darby Berhad also has a significant presence in
downstream palm oil activities. The merger also made Sime Darby a leading developer of
residential and commercial communities. Furthermore it holds Caterpillar rights in 12
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