Taking Heed of the Wake Up Call
The competitive pressures of globalisation are certainly being felt more and more keenly as economies square off to entice and draw in much sought after foreign investors. Whilst some countries may have greater competitive edge over others in terms of natural endowments or abundance of resources, it has been proven over and again that one key factor in attracting and retaining foreign investments is the existence of a transparent, reliable, effective and efficient public delivery system that understands and responds well to the needs of business.
Malaysia has had its fair share of success and challenges in this ongoing battle for global investments. As regional neighbors surge ahead to innovate to capture market share, we are made increasingly aware that we must double our efforts if we are to remain competitive and attractive to investors.
Thus, it was a step in the right direction when the Government placed great priority in its quest to revamp our public service delivery system to raise our competitive edge. The Government undertook several initiatives, amongst which were the establishment of the One-Stop Centers (OSCs) to expedite approvals at local authority level, as well as the formation of PEMUDAH, a public-private sector joint effort aimed at rationalising application and approval processes for licensing, registration of businesses and so on.
The jury is still out on how significantly these measures have improved our competitiveness, but there are promising signs of the initiatives taking root, especially with regards to PEMUDAH’s efforts on several fronts. There is definitely a great deal of commitment and seriousness at the higher echelons of government to get our footing back on the competitiveness ladder.
However, the message must filter down and be embraced by all other levels of government. We must remember that even as we are trying to improve, the world is marching on, and our regional and global counterparts and competitors are also racing ahead. Let us not take anything for granted, and do too little too late.n