Chapter 1 – Report of the Policy, Law and Complaints Group 2. BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS (a) Foreign and Commonwealth Office Project In 2014, the Commission, in partnership with the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Malaysia, succeeded in a bid for a grant from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom (FCO) to undertake a project focusing on business and human rights, namely, “Promoting Business and Human Rights in Malaysia for Business Success and Inclusive Growth”. The main objective of the project was to formulate and propose a framework for a national plan of action towards the adoption and implementation of the UN Guiding Principles (UNGP) on Business and Human Rights by both State and non-State actors in Malaysia. The project, which commenced in July 2014, was successfully completed in March 2015 with the launching of the Strategic Framework on a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights for Malaysia (the Strategic Framework) by YB Senator Datuk Paul Low Seng Kuan, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department. As a continuation of its work in 2015, the Commission carried out several activities before the launch of the final document - the Strategic Framework - including the following: (i) Meeting with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) Mindful that SSM is an important and the lead agency in regulating business incorporation and has the authority to improve corporate governance and human rights, the Commission decided to approach SSM to support the Commission’s work on business and human rights. On 15 January, a strategic meeting with SSM was held to brief SSM on the UNGP and its relevance to the business sector in Malaysia. The Commission is glad to note that SSM recognised the relevance of business and human rights to their current agenda on corporate responsibilities. Since then, SSM has been a major supporter of the Commission’s work on business and human rights. (ii) Questionnaires for Regulatory Bodies and Business Entities The Commission developed questionnaires in order to obtain input on and gain understanding of the relevant issues, for example, the concept of business and human rights, in particular whether there is any policy being implemented with regard to human rights, and if there are obstacles in the integration of human rights in business operations. The questionnaires were distributed to three regulatory bodies in Malaysia and four corporations including Government-linked companies (GLCs). The interviews were carried out in February. However, out of the seven respondents, the Commission only received feedback from SSM, Bursa Malaysia Berhad and UEM Berhad. (iii) Jurisdiction Trip to London The jurisdiction trip to London was held from 1-7 March, with the objectives of further 35 BOOK-ANR2016-01-latest.indb 35 08/04/2016 3:32 PM