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The Boardroom Web: Who Runs Corporate Malaysia?



This is a follow-up to my previous analysis of Malaysia's corporate ecosystem. While the last post looked at which companies own each other, this post zooms in on the people.

Using the same dataset, I mapped Interlocking Directorates—the extent to which individuals sit on the boards of multiple listed companies. This metric is often used to spot power brokers, conflicts of interest, and the "old boys' network" that directs the economy.
Figure 1: The web of Interlocking Board Memberships (2015).
Larger nodes = Individuals on more boards.

The "Super-Connector" Anomaly

The visualization highlights some extreme outliers in the data:
  • Max Board Seats: As of 2015, the most connected individual was listed in 54 companies (out of over 900 listed firms).
  • Max Board Size: The greatest number of individuals sitting on a single board was 15.

Who is the person sitting on 54 boards? Is this a tycoon with unprecedented control over the economy?

The Twist: The Company Secretary

It turns out, the "most powerful" node is likely not a tycoon, but a compliance officer.

According to the Malaysia Business Advisory, every registered company must appoint at least one Company Secretary—a licensed professional responsible for ensuring compliance with the Companies Act of 1965.

Because many firms outsource this role to professional services firms, a single licensed secretary often appears on dozens of filings. While they are central to the network graph, they do not necessarily drive strategic direction.
Next Steps: Filtering the Noise
To find the true strategic power brokers, I am currently building a new map that excludes Company Secretaries. This filtered view should reveal the genuine decision-makers and the true extent of corporate interlocking in Malaysia.
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