THE business community has urged Putrajaya to reduce bureaucratic hurdles and provide a better business environment for foreign investors and them. 

Following up on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s assurances to global investors in last month’s meeting in the United States, the business community urged civil servants, ministries, departments, and agencies involved in approving business permits to start doing things more quickly. 

“Cut the red tape and bureaucratic hurdles. Make approval procedures as simple as possible,” they said. 

SME Association of Malaysia national president Ding Hong Sing told The Malaysian Insight that these ministries, departments, and agencies were moving at a snail’s pace. 

“Too slow for the investors’ liking. They don’t seem to be in any hurry to get things done,” Ding said. 

He was baffled by this as many work processes in the civil service had been automated. 

“Why is it still like this?” he asked. 

Ding said sluggishness not only resulted in the country losing out to competitors, but it also damaged Malaysia’s international standing.

“When we are not as quick and convenient as other countries, investors naturally choose to invest elsewhere,” he said. 

Ding said local small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as foreign multinationals, found it hard to navigate the maze the government had created. 

He said the government mainly needed to improve its work processes. 

“Flip-flopping on policies should also be a no-no.” 

The prime minister, in his keynote address “Regaining Malaysia’s Lead in Asia” in New York last month, had assured foreign investors that the government was implementing reforms to create a more favourable business environment. 

Anwar, who is also the finance minister, had said he was very disappointed to hear of some companies experiencing delays in getting approvals from the government. 

“Some of the companies we met with mentioned delays in obtaining business approvals. I was very disappointed when I heard this because we have given clear instructions that such approvals should not be delayed.”

Anwar added that in the rapidly changing and highly competitive global economy, time was of the essence and delays like this deterred companies from investing in Malaysia. 

He said he had given instructions to relevant ministers and agencies to ensure the speedy processing of all applications, including approval of investments and issuance of visas. 

Meanwhile, Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia deputy president Ng Yih Pyng questioned the need for so many “checkpoints” in the approval process. 

“The involvement of so many agencies is not only causing delays but making it difficult for would-be investors to navigate. 

“To create that business-friendly environment, the process must be convenient and efficient. 

“The civil service must show integrity and transparency,” Ng added. 

He said the cost of doing business must also be low. 

“The bottom line is simplicity.” 

To achieve this simplicity and speed up approvals, he suggested the government set up a special department to handle foreign business applications. 

The department should be a one-stop service centre with cross-jurisdiction collaboration, Ng said. 

“Simple and seamless. Foreign companies do not have to wait endlessly just to set up factories. 

“Not only foreign investments, but applications for local investments should similarly be simplified and approval accelerated.” – October 4, 2023.