Gifts and hospitality policy Malaysia: what to include, with a register and festive rules

Why a gifts and hospitality policy matters

Giving and receiving gifts is part of Malaysian working life. Hampers at Hari Raya and Chinese New Year, dinners after a project closes, a supplier’s golf day. Most of it is harmless courtesy. The risk is that a gift becomes an inducement or reward for a business decision, which the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 treats as gratification. The Act defines gratification widely: money, gifts, loans, fees, rewards, discounts, commissions, rebates, employment and any other service or favour.

Since 1 June 2020, section 17A makes the company itself liable when someone associated with it gives a bribe for its benefit, with a minimum fine of RM1 million or ten times the bribe, whichever is higher. See our section 17A guide for the details. The Guidelines on Adequate Procedures (December 2018) list policies on “gifts, entertainment, hospitality and travel” among the control measures expected of every commercial organisation, together with conflicts of interest, donations and sponsorships, and facilitation payments.

A clear policy protects both sides. Staff know what they can accept without worrying, and the company can show that it controls the giving side as well as the receiving side.

What the policy should contain

1. Purpose and scope: applies to all directors, employees and, where relevant, agents and contractors acting for the company; covers giving and receiving.
2. Definitions: gift, hospitality (meals, entertainment, events), travel and accommodation, and “immediate family” so gifts to spouses or children are covered.
3. General principles: never to influence or reward a business decision; never in cash or cash equivalents such as vouchers, gold or e-wallet credit; never requested or solicited; never during a live tender or negotiation with that party; always transparent and recorded.
4. Approval levels: what may be accepted freely, what needs line manager or compliance approval, and what must always be declined.
5. Public officials: stricter rules for anything given to government officers or staff of government-linked bodies (see below).
6. Hospitality and travel: business purpose, reasonable cost, the host present, no family or leisure add-ons, and the company pays its own travel for supplier visits where possible.
7. Donations and sponsorships: approved centrally, to registered bodies, with due diligence, never to influence a pending decision.
8. The register: what to record, by when, and who reviews it.
9. Handling gifts that cannot be refused: accept on behalf of the company, record, then return, share with the team, raffle or donate.
10. Reporting and consequences: how to report a suspicious offer, protection for people who report, and disciplinary action for breaches.

Keep the policy short enough to read in ten minutes, and put the decision rules on one page that staff can check on their phone.

Thresholds: examples, not law

No Malaysian law sets a ringgit limit for gifts in the private sector. Any threshold is a company decision, based on its risk assessment, industry and the seniority of staff. The table below is an example only, to show how a tiered rule can be laid out.

Two refinements are worth adding. First, count cumulative value: several small gifts from one supplier in a year can add up to a significant benefit. Second, apply a zero tolerance rule for roles in procurement, tender evaluation and dealings with regulators during active processes, whatever the value.

The gifts and hospitality register

The register is the evidence that your policy is working. It should record gifts and hospitality offered, accepted, declined and given above the token level. Useful columns:

• date, employee name, position and department;
• given or received, and the other party’s name and organisation;
• whether the other party is a public official, a supplier in an active tender, a customer or other;
• description and estimated value in ringgit;
• business reason or occasion;
• decision: accepted, declined, returned, donated or shared, and who approved;
• a reviewer’s comment and date.

Compliance should review the register at least quarterly and look for patterns: the same supplier giving to the same buyer, high-value hospitality before a contract award, or departments that never record anything. Report a summary to senior management and the Board, which also supports directors’ due diligence under section 17A(3).

Festive seasons, duit raya and ang pow

Festive seasons are when most gifts change hands, and the policy should speak to them directly. A short reminder to staff and to key suppliers two or three weeks before Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Chinese New Year, Deepavali and Christmas avoids awkward moments.

• Hampers and food: small festive food items shared with the team are usually acceptable under a token threshold. Large or luxury hampers should be declared, and many companies send them back or share them at the office.
• Duit raya and ang pow from business contacts: these are money. Treat them as cash and decline them from suppliers, customers, contractors and anyone you deal with for work, whatever the amount. Packets exchanged within families and among colleagues as a cultural custom are a separate matter, but managers should be careful about receiving them from subordinates or contractors.
• Open houses: attending a customer’s or supplier’s open house is normally fine. Taking home expensive door gifts, or being invited to a private event for a few key buyers during a tender, is not.
• Giving: if the company sends festive greetings, use modest, branded items of equal value for all, approved centrally, and never to officials involved in a pending approval.
• Tell suppliers: a short letter or e-mail explaining that your staff may not accept gifts saves embarrassment on both sides.

Gifts to government officials and the public service rules

Public officers work under stricter rules than private employees, and your policy should reflect that.

• Regulation 8 of the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993 says an officer must not receive or give, or allow a spouse or anyone else to receive or give on their behalf, any present connected directly or indirectly with their official duties. If refusing is difficult, the officer may formally accept but must report it in writing to the Head of Department, who decides whether it is kept or returned.
• Regulation 9 allows entertainment only if it does not influence the officer’s performance of duties in the giver’s favour.
• The public service also follows a Human Resources Service Circular (MyPPSM Ceraian UP.7.2.5) on managing the receipt or giving of gifts, hospitality and sponsorship in the public service, and many agencies publish their own gifts policies built on it, often called a no-gift policy.

“Public body” under the MACC Act is wide. It covers federal and state governments, local and statutory authorities, and companies in which they have a controlling interest. In practice, the safest rule for your staff is: do not give gifts or hospitality to public officials connected with any approval, licence, inspection or contract, and record every meeting with them. Modest refreshments at an official meeting are a different matter from a gift.

Section 25 of the MACC Act also requires anyone offered or given gratification in breach of the Act to report it to the nearest MACC or police officer. Failing to report is an offence carrying a fine of up to RM100,000, imprisonment of up to ten years, or both.

Training staff to apply the policy

Staff need practice with grey areas: a hamper from a supplier who is about to bid, a dinner invitation from a customer, an officer who mentions that his daughter is getting married. In the WorkQuest2U Gifts, Hospitality & Donations lesson, staff decide what to do with festive hampers, gala dinners, golf days and sponsorship requests in a 3D scene, and learn when to accept, decline and declare. Anti-Bribery & Corruption covers officials and facilitation payments, and Conflicts of Interest covers gifts that create obligations. For the wider programme, see our anti-bribery training guide.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Thresholds in this guide are examples; set yours based on your own risk assessment and legal advice.