INSTITUTIONAL reform is key to making foreign investors comfortable with doing business in Malaysia, said a lawyer.

Syed Naqiz Shahabuddin, a senior partner at Naqiz & Partner and owner of Bud & Naq Holdings, said investors must feel assured that their rights, such as those on intellectual property and real estate, are protected.

“You must have an unflinching application of the rule of law and assure investors that the law is consistently applied in Malaysia,” he said during a panel discussion at the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute forum in Petaling Jaya today.

“Investors must be comforted with the assurance that coming into this country, their rights are protected and there will be no leakages in the system, no officers asking for under-the-table money, and if a case goes to court, there’s independence of the judiciary.”

While laws are in place, there is a lack of enforcement, he said.

Syed Naqiz said red tape and lengthy procedures to obtain permits and approvals can put off investors, and given this, Malaysia should look at ways to simplify and ease the process of doing business.

Malaysian Institute of Economic Research chairman Sulaiman Mahbob, also a panellist, said the country should move away from race-based policies to those that are needs-based, especially when they concern the B40 group.

To this, Syed Naqiz said such a shift requires political will.

Former Khazanah Nasional Bhd managing director Mohd Sheriff Mohd Kassim said he has always stressed the need for parliamentary oversight.

He expressed hope that more government-linked companies and statutory bodies provide their annual reports to Parliament, to be discussed openly.

“For example, Khazanah should be asked to… explain (its annual report) to Parliament, so that there is transparency.

“If there is any complaint about Khazanah, they (MPs) can raise it. This will leave a good impression on investors.” – March 12, 2019.