By Phuah Ken Lin, Business Times

December 20, 2011

EIGHT representatives of Penang-based manufacturers received the Genuine Corporate award from the Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Ministry for using original software.

The companies were DIC Compounds (M) Sdn Bhd, Dufu Industries Sdn Bhd, Federal Packages Sdn Bhd, Hired-Hand Technologies Asia Sdn Bhd, LKT Automation Sdn Bhd, Parade Manufacturing Sdn BHd, Hitachi Chemical (M) Sdn Bhd and Northern Steel Centre Sdn Bhd.

Since June, the Business Software Alliance (BSA), on behalf of the ministry, nominated 228 companies for good practices nationwide for the award.

On hand to present the awards to the recipients were the Ministry state enforcement chief Guna Selan Marian and BSA's senior director for marketing, Asia pacific Roland Chan.

Ten companies in Penang were nominated for the award.

The recipients accepted their awards at the ministry's branch office at Weld Quay here recently.

Meanwhile, Chan said more than 2,000 applications for the good corporate governance award had been received when submission dateline lapsed on Aug 31.

The purpose of the award is to recognise companies which have incorporated the good software management practices in their organisation.

"Our aim is to applaud the monitoring and control of the use of genuine software to maximise their companies' productivity," he said.

To qualify for the award, Chan said the companies were required to have a software audit conducted by a certified third-party software audit firm and conduct annual software audit.

He said the candidates had to use only genuine software products in their business operations.

"It is good to see more companies on the right side of the law," Chan said.

Guna Selan said it was fitting to reward genuine software compliant companies with the award.