Dagang NeXchange Berhad Annual Report 2018

4. REINFORCE INDEPENDENCE 4.1 Annual Assessment of Independent Directors The Board, through the NRC, carries out an annual assessment of the independent directors with the aim of strengthening the role of independent directors to facilitate independent and objective decision making in the Company, free from undue influence and bias. The concept of independence adopted by the Board is in tandem with the definition of an independent director in paragraph 1.01 of the MMLR of Bursa Securities. The key element for fulfilling the criteria is the appointment of an independent director who is not a member of management and who is free of any relationship which could interfere with the exercise of independent judgement or the ability to act in the best interest of the Company. The Board has also adopted the assessment criteria provided in the corporate governance guide issued by Bursa Securities. Based on the recommendation of the NRC, the Board is satisfied that our independent non-executive directors have continued to exercise independent judgement and acted in the best interests of the Company and the Company’s stakeholders during the financial year. 4.2Tenure of Independent Director MCCG 2017 recommends that the tenure of an independent director should not exceed a cumulative term of nine (9) years. Upon completion of the nine (9) years, an independent director may continue to serve on the Board subject to his re-designation as a non- independent director. As at the date of this Statement, none of the Independent Directors of the Company has served the Board for a cumulative term of nine (9) years. 4.3 Chairman to be a Non-Executive Director The Chairman of the Board, Tan Sri Abd Rahman Mamat has been an Independent Non-Executive Director since his appointment to the Board on 12 December 2013. 61 Annual Report 2018 Corporate Governance Overview Statement CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY