Opening remarks by Tan Sri James Foong Cheng Yuen, Chairman of the Financial Markets Ombudsman Service.
Salutation
Yang Berbahagia Dato’ Mohammad Faiz Azmi, Chairman, Securities Commission Malaysia;
Yang Berbahagia Datuk Jessica Chiew Chang Lian, Deputy Governor, Bank Negara Malaysia;
Yang Berbahagia Dato Mah Weng Kwai, Chairman of Security Industry Dispute Resolution Centre (SIDREC) and his Directors;
Assistant Governors, Directors and senior management staff of Bank Negara Malaysia;
Directors and senior management officers of Security Commission of Malaysia;
Chief Executive Officers and Senior Officers of:
Licensed banks and islamic banks,
Licensed digital banks,
Licensed insurance companies,
Takaful operators,
Capital Markets service license holders,
Approved designated payment instrument issuers,
Approved financial advisers and Capital Markets Services Licensed Holders;
My fellow Directors and Chief Executive Officer of FMOS;
Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen
Operative Part
On behalf of the Board of Directors and the management of FMOS, I welcome you to this morning’s event for the launch of the FMOS: the abbreviation for FINANCIAL MARKET OMBUDSMAN SERVICES.
Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to disclose a brief history of FMOS
On 11 January 2023, Dato’ Mah Weng Kwai, as the Chairman of SIDREC, and myself, as Chairman of Ombudsman For Financial Services (“OFS”) received a letter jointly issued by Bank Negara Malaysia and Securities Commission of Malaysia, requesting us to set up a committee to merge the operations of OFS and SIDREC. The objective expressed are: “aim to enhance operation synergies of dispute resolution schemes given the increasing complexity of financial solutions and blurring of lines between financial and capital market activities conducted by financial service providers”.
Soon after receiving this instruction, a Merger Steering Committee was set up consisting of some of the best and talented personnel from Bank Negara, Securities Commission, SIDREC and OFS. With their input and expertise coupled with the professional advice from relevant consultants, the Steering Committee reported back to Bank Negara and Securities Commission on the 8th August 2024 with these proposals:
to continue OFS as a corporate entity under a new name called FMOS with amended Constitution and Rules;
FMOS should assume all activities of both OFS and SIDREC;
an ‘enhanced dispute resolution’ process to be
These proposals were accepted by both Bank Negara and Securities Commission and the targeted date from the implementation of this project was fixed on 1 January 2025.
Honoured guests Ladies and Gentlemen: I am proud to announce that on the 31 December 2024, FMOS received notification that changes to its rules and regulations were officially gazetted permitting FMOS to become operational on the 1st of January 2025.
Congratulations
Speaking for myself, this feat could not have been possible within this tight timeline if not for the enormous and unselfish input from:
Bank Negara Malaysia led by Assistant Governor Dr Nohana Endut and Director Ms Lim Hsin Ying and their team;
Securities Commission led by Executive Director and General Counsel Ms Yew Yee Tee and Ms Seri Izriana Melani Mohtar and their team;
Yang Berbahagia Dato’ Mah Weng Kwai and his directors from SIDREC particularly: Ms Angelia Chin-Sharpe and Madam Pushpa Nair;
Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Zaleha Zahari, Datin Veronica Selvanayagy; Ms Sujatha Sekhar Naik and my fellow directors of OFS now FMOS;
Ms Marina Baharuddin CEO of OFS now FMOS;
Ms Sharmila Sharma former CEO of SIDREC and Ms Wong Su Kuin, former interim CEO SIDREC now COO of FMOS.
From the following consultants:
Ms Deborah Shamini and Ms Anis of Shearn Delamore who took care of all secretariat duties including dealings with Companies Corporation of Malaysia on the change of name from OFS to FMOS and amendment to FMOS Constitution.
Ms Jeyamala Ariaratnam of Ms Azman Davison & Co for drafting the amendment to the FMOS Constitution;
Ms Koo Poh Poh and Mr Mark Nevis of Ms Earnst & Young for formulating the funding model; and
Mr Jayasingam and Ms Selvi of Ms Zul Rafique for harmonizing the terms of employment for all staff of the two organizations.
Distinctive Feature
Distinguished Guests, Ladies, and Gentlemen, many of you may wonder what are the distinctive features of FMOS.
To appreciate this, one must return to the origin of the law courts where, for a substantial period of time and still in many aspects, the sole and final
arbiter of disputes between parties.
Then in the early 1990’s, society realized that this sole dependence on the law courts to resolve all disputes are becoming too slow, inefficient and expensive. Disputes, in short, are getting too long to resolve. To relieve the over-crowded civil courts, various trade organizations, bodies and individuals began setting up alternative dispute resolution centres (“ADR”) adopting an arbitration process (which basically is a settlement of dispute by a private judge agreed to by both parties) or by way of mediation (which is a settlement of dispute through mediation aimed at arriving a ‘win-win’ solution acceptable by both contenting parties).
Ladies and Gentlemen: FMOS is an ADR It adopts an ADR process that combines both mediation and arbitration. It is an organization set up voluntarily by its members who are bankers, insurers, capital markets operators. This organization is solely funded by them. The principal aspiration of FMOS members towards this set up is to enhance their customer’s service delivery practices where complaints they could not settle with their aggrieved customers to be resolved by FMOS. Many of our members may also not have realized that by contributing to the setting up of, and maintaining FMOS, they have also fulfilled a part of their social obligation towards society: relieving our over-burdened courts and providing an economic and expeditiously avenue to a portion of our society with reliefs. This, in my view, should be added as a credit to their ESG report under the category of “Social Responsibility”.
FMOS adopts a two stage ADR approach. When we receive a complaint from an aggrieved customer of our members, we will mediate on this matter. When mediation fails either the aggrieved party or our members can forward this matter to our panel of adjudicator, whom we proudly called ‘Ombudsman’. Our Ombudsman will first attempt to mediate and when this fails he decides on the merits of the matter. After this, he writes an award. Now comes the most honourable and distinctive feature: A decision made by the Ombudsman on the matter will be accepted and honoured by our members. It is binding upon them. However, for the aggrieved customer who refuses to accept this award, he or she is at liberty to pursue the same claim further in the civil court.
Though this appear to be a one-sided option, statistics have shown that many aggrieved customers subsequent to our process peruse the dispute no further. Many felt that their grievances had been heard, considered and decided by an independent, impartial and honest panel.
In the past years, FMOS and its predecessors has been hugely successful with this ADR system. The reasons are simply this:
We are accessible.
We are efficient where each case is settled on an average of 6 to 9 months from date where a compliant is received;
We are cost effective where a complainant need not make any payment in filing a claim to us;
We are trained to comprehend and understand the disputed subject matter well and we are rational is disposing off the dispute;
We handled the matter in a transparent, honest and un-bias manner; and
We do not deprive an aggrieved customer from seeking legal recourse from the civil courts if he is not satisfied with the result.
Future
Now with FMOS, the scope of operation is expanded from the original insurance and banking disputes to include capital market conflicts with their clients or We have the ability, capability and capacity to deal with this. Experience staff and personnel from SIDREC are now part of FMOS and their excellent and magnificently performance will continue to shine in this larger set up. Together, we should become more efficient and costs effective to enhance the financial and capital market arena in Malaysia.
With this, Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in celebrating this memorable occasion to officially celebrate the setting up of the operation of FMOS.
Thank you.
Dated: 17 January 2025
