In corporate governance, good form is predicated on better substance

[singapore] Many moons ago as a young executive, I was fortunate to be schooled by a titan – JY Pillay. One of the Last Fools, or Eight Immortals of the Lee Kuan Yew era of public service mandarins, he went on to make his mark at Singapore Airlines, DBS and Singapore Exchange (SGX), among others.

As a non-executive chairman, he was kind enough to host me for lunch every so often in his office, where I tried to soak in his wisdom and take instructions, typically when dessert was served.

On one memorable occasion, as I tried to convince him of grand strategies and various plans, he remarked: “Strategies or grand tactics one must have. It is expected that management will have the expertise, detailed plans for efficient and effective execution. However, do you have the right people? If you get the people right, success follows – or not, if not.”

He was a chairman par excellence, one that some of us can only dream of emulating, as we trail far behind in the paths he has trod.

And so it is with corporate governance, both the code and the Act, or listing rules. They are designed to help guide and ensure that de minimis standards objectively can be set and over time, raised with good intentions.