I wish to highlight a very alarming and unchecked trend among our corporate captains, especially the ones whose companies are listed on the stock exchange.

I am referring to none other then the habit of many chairman and managing directors to make unsubstantial remarks about their own company, mostly on the glowing prospects of their entities. This is often in relation to talk about how close they are to securing foreign contracts, claims about the market capitalisation and many other financial and stock market sensitive information which are not at all backed up by facts and figures.

If one then follows the news on these companies many, many months down the line, nothing else can be heard. I know the Securities Commission and Bursa Malaysia routinely ask for verification about market talk from listed entities, but what I would like to know is if they also query these captains on the validity of their off-the-cuff remarks.

Are they making these assertions with intent to disseminate information among prospective investors or are they making it without any basis; all just hot air and wishful thinking? Either way I think it requires greater scrutiny by the authorities concerned.

Maybe the SC should educate listed companies on how they should behave post-listing. Every time there is a listing, there will be a publicity photo where the listing requirements are presented to the company chairman of someone equally important by the CEO of Bursa Malaysia.

I think this is a silly gesture as all company personnel including the board of directors are supposed to fully conversant with the listing requirements. Is Bursa Malaysia giving out the message that one has to read the requirements only after listing?

I urge Bursa Malaysia to discontinue this preposterous practice. Maybe they should replace it with a compilation of frequently committed offences by listed entities. Now wouldn't that be better?