KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 (Bernama) -- Malaysia today launched the Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) Guide for Businesses in Malaysia to help businesses identify, prevent, mitigate and address potential adverse human rights impacts, as the country moves to translate its National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights 2025-2030 (NAPBHR) into practical action.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said the guide adopts a risk-based and proportionate approach, recognising that businesses differ in terms of resources, structures and exposure to risks.
“Respect for human rights should be reflected in corporate policies, operations, supply chains, business relationships and decision-making, while responsible business conduct should not be viewed merely as a cost.
“Our objective is much more fundamental. We want respect for human rights to become part of how good businesses do business,” she said in her keynote address at the National Conference on Business and Human Rights 2026 here today.
Azalina encouraged businesses, from large corporations to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to use the guide not merely as another compliance document, but as a management and decision-making tool to build better and more responsible businesses.
She said the government recognised that businesses today operate in an increasingly complex environment and already face various governance, sustainability and reporting requirements.
The minister said the government had been engaging regulators, industry representatives and businesses to understand their existing practices, challenges and readiness, stressing the importance of understanding where businesses currently stand to help them move forward.
On the NAPBHR, Azalina said Malaysia had begun building the institutional foundations necessary to implement the 11 Immediate Actions identified for commencement within the first year.
The government has established the National Steering Committee, supported by three Technical Committees and coordinated through the Business and Human Rights Working Group, as well as the Multi-stakeholder Monitoring, Evaluation, Training and Learning Committee.
She said the NAPBHR translates the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights into the national context through three priority areas, Governance, Labour and Environment, and supported by 135 strategic actions involving the government, businesses and other stakeholders.
Azalina said business and human rights could neither be delivered by the government acting alone nor achieved by businesses in isolation, but required shared responsibility, shared ownership and sustained partnership.
She said Malaysia’s first year of NAPBHR implementation had also shown that the plan was not a finished product, but a living and evolving national commitment that must continue to be learned from, measured, improved and adapted towards 2030.
“Ultimately, business and human rights is not about choosing between economic growth and human dignity. A modern economy must be capable of delivering both.
“Malaysia wants investment, innovation and businesses to grow and compete internationally. But we also want growth that is responsible, sustainable and respectful of human dignity,” she said.
She added that the next phase must focus on delivering tangible results after establishing the foundation in the first year.
-- BERNAMA