A minimum of one director is required by all companies based in Malaysia. It is also a statutory requirement that the director must be at least 18 years old but does not have to be currently residing in Malaysia.

According to the Companies Act, every director in Malaysia is to be contactable. This is to be done through the use of a service address. Therefore, a foreigner who stays overseas can be the sole director of a company; however, this is only true if the director is contactable through a Malaysia residential service address.
It is also possible for a foreigner to serve as the director of a Malaysia-based company through proper use of certain work visas. This is because holding such a visa grants certain rights to a foreigner, one of which is the ability to lead a company as its sole director.