The Importance of Being a Complainant

An illegal investment firm operating from the Bahamas has cheated you. What should you do? Should you just keep quiet and blame your bad luck? Or should you lodge a complaint with the SC? Most Malaysian would choose to remain silent.

Why is your complaint important?
Your complaint will help the SC in its enforcement actions and help prevent others, especially your family members and close friends, from falling prey to such investment scams.

The information provided through the complaint could help the SC in issuing alerts through the media to warn the public of the scam. This will not only protect investors but will also tell the fraudsters that the SC knows that they are around and will take all necessary actions to stop them.

However, an investment scam is not the only type of complaint you can lodge with the SC. Generally, investors investing in the capital market could lodge complaints with the SC if they have grievances against:

  • Public-listed companies e.g. corporate governance issues, corporate exercises, inaccurate or misleading disclosure of information and corporate actions detrimental to shareholders’ interest.
  • Issuing houses e.g. manipulation of IPO balloting process, allowing multiple IPO application.
  • Stockbroking companies e.g. insolvency of a stockbroking company, improper trading practices and misuse of clients’ money.
  • Remisiers/dealer’s representatives e.g. unauthorised use of clients’ account.
  • Unlicensed investment firms i.e. a firm’s claim that it is based in a foreign jurisdiction, or that it trades in foreign investment products e.g. red bean (commodity), Hang Seng index (indicies) or US dollar (foreign currency).

However, this list is not exhaustive but merely provides examples on possible matters about which investors could complain. Essentially, if it is something related to the capital market, an investor is entitled to lodge a complaint.

Where to complain?

If you have a complaint, lodge it with the Complaint Department (CD) of the SC. You could use the following channels:

  • By telephone: Aduan Hotline at 03-6204 8999
  • By e-mail: aduan@seccom.com.my
  • In writing to the Complaints Department, Securities Commission, 3 Persiaran Bukit Kiara, Bukit Kiara, 50490 Kuala Lumpur
  • In person at the Complaints Department of the SC.

The complaint procedure is very simple and has been designed to make it easy for investors to lodge their complaints. So do lodge a complaint if you have been cheated or unfairly treated because by complaining, you can help improve the investing environment in Malaysia.