Named Company Secretary Service in Malaysia

What our company secretary service includes

When PT Corporate Services is appointed as your company secretary, our name goes on the record with Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM) and we take on the administrative backbone of your company's compliance. The role is not ceremonial. Under the Companies Act 2016 the secretary is an officer of the company, and the day-to-day machinery of compliance — registers, resolutions, notifications and lodgements — runs through this office.

In practical terms, the engagement covers:

• Acting as the named company secretary of record for your Sdn Bhd or other SSM-registered company.
• Maintaining the statutory registers — members, directors, managers and secretaries, directors' shareholdings and charges — and keeping them available for inspection.
• Drafting directors' and members' resolutions, from routine matters such as opening a bank account to structural changes such as share allotments and transfers.
• Preparing and lodging the annual return and other routine submissions through MyCoID, as part of the wider SSM filings and compliance work we handle.
• Recording changes of directors, shareholders, addresses and share capital, and notifying the Registrar within the statutory timeframes.
• Supporting board meetings and general meetings — notices, agendas, minutes and the follow-through paperwork. Private companies are no longer required to hold annual general meetings under the Companies Act 2016 and may act by written resolution, but the documentation still has to be done properly.

Who must appoint a company secretary, and when

Section 235 of the Companies Act 2016 requires every company in Malaysia to have at least one secretary. This applies from the very start of a company's life: the board must appoint the first secretary within 30 days after incorporation, and the office of secretary must not be left vacant for more than 30 days at any time after that. There is no exemption for small companies, dormant companies or family businesses — if it is registered with SSM as a company, it needs a secretary.

The Act is equally specific about who may hold the office. A company secretary must be a natural person, at least 18 years of age, who ordinarily resides in Malaysia with a principal place of residence here. He or she must also be qualified — either a member of a professional body prescribed by the Minister, or licensed by SSM. A company cannot appoint another company as its secretary, and it cannot appoint someone unqualified simply because they are convenient or already involved in the business.

If you are still at the planning stage, the secretary question is usually settled as part of incorporating the company itself, because the 30-day appointment deadline starts running on the incorporation date.

How the process works with us

1. Initial conversation. Tell us about the company — a new incorporation, an existing company changing secretaries, or a company that has fallen behind on its filings. Reach us through the contact page or on WhatsApp.
2. Scope and fees confirmed upfront. We set out exactly what the engagement covers and confirm the fees before any work begins, so there are no surprises later.
3. Verification. We complete standard know-your-client checks on the company, its directors and its shareholders.
4. Appointment paperwork. We prepare the board resolution appointing the secretary, the consent to act, and the notification to SSM. Where an outgoing secretary is involved, we coordinate the resignation and the handover of the statutory records so the office is never vacant.
5. Ongoing compliance calendar. Once appointed, we map your deadlines — the annual return, financial statement lodgement and any recurring corporate actions — and manage them through the year.

What you will need to provide

• The company name and registration number, for existing companies.
• Identification documents — NRIC or passport copies — for directors and shareholders.
• The current statutory registers, minute books and constitution (if one has been adopted), where you are switching from another secretary.
• Details of the last annual return and financial statements lodged, so we can confirm the company's filing position.
• A working email address and phone number for each director, for resolutions and reminders.

If some records are missing or the filing history is unclear, tell us early. Companies changing secretaries often discover gaps at handover, and it is far easier to reconstruct the position then than midway through a filing deadline.

What happens when a company gets this wrong

Failing to appoint a secretary, or leaving the office vacant beyond 30 days, is a breach of the Companies Act 2016 for which the company and its officers can be penalised. The practical consequences are often worse than the direct penalty. Without a secretary, there is usually no one tracking the annual return deadline, no one maintaining the registers, and no one receiving and acting on SSM correspondence at the registered office. Missed annual returns attract consequences of their own, and where annual returns are not lodged for three or more consecutive years, the Registrar may move to strike the company off the register — a serious outcome for any company with assets, contracts or bank accounts in its name.

Can a director also be the company secretary?

Only if that person independently meets the qualification requirements — membership of a professional body prescribed by the Minister, or a licence from SSM — in addition to the age and residence requirements. In practice most directors do not hold these qualifications, which is why the great majority of Malaysian companies appoint an external, professionally qualified secretary.

We already have a secretary. Can we switch to PT Corporate Services?

Yes. Changing secretaries is a routine corporate action: the incoming appointment and outgoing resignation are handled by resolution, SSM is notified, and the statutory records are handed over. We manage the sequence so the office is never left vacant and nothing falls through the gap during the transition, and we confirm the fees upfront before we begin.

If your company needs a secretary — or a more responsive one — talk to us. PT Corporate Services is based at Menara Mitraland, Kota Damansara, and acts for companies across Petaling Jaya, the Klang Valley and the rest of Malaysia. Message us on WhatsApp at +6016 538 5338 or email general@pwatan.my, and we will confirm scope and fees before any work begins. Compliance, handled.

Authoritative sources: Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM) · MyCoID portal (SSM).

According to Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM), the board of a Malaysian Sdn Bhd must appoint its first company secretary — a natural person who is a citizen or permanent resident ordinarily residing in Malaysia — within 30 days of incorporation, and the office cannot be left vacant for more than 30 days thereafter (Companies Act 2016, Section 236). See SSM — FAQs on the Companies Act 2016.