Engaging To Strengthen National Competitiveness – Is Pemudah Sufficient For Malaysia?

Bismillahir rahmanir rahim

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh and a very Good Afternoon.

Y. Bhg. Datuk Johan Jaaffar
Chairman
Media Prima Berhad

Board of Directors
Media Prima Berhad

Ladies and gentlemen

First and foremost I want to thank Datuk Johan Jaaffar, and Media Prima Berhad for inviting me to share my thoughts on the role of PEMUDAH in national competitiveness. It is a great honour and priviledge.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT

2. It is said that when a butterfly moves its wings into flight in the Amazon Rainforest, it can set in motion an entire weather system. Whether science has proven a direct correlation between the wing movements to climate change is yet to make the morning headlines globally. But the essence of the comparison is intended to relay the simple rule of physics – every action has its opposite and equal reactions. Question is – how big an impact can a small event cause; how vast a climate change can one wing flap initiate?

3. Our global landscape today tells a story. All modern societies are on the verge of restoration, seeking the right balance. I would liken it to a road with all forms of vehicles – from bicycles to trucks to sports motors, all on a three lane highway. Balance on such a highway is often punctuated by traffic lights and bumps, without which there would be disastrous accidents and trampling.

4. Without controls, balance in a society will be determined by the biggest, the largest and the domineering. The less able will be trampled, sidelined, and banished causing a state of imbalance and disproportion. No society or economy, I might add, can truly prosper when the weak are sidelined and only the strong are graced and glorified.

5. In the same vein and spirit, no one section, faction or set of people can determine a collective future. No one business or policy can define growth in an economy. True and meaningful growth can only come about, I would argue, through ownership by all those who have a stake in the country. All those who sweat their effort to build a country that stands on par and with pride with other successful nations. I am certain, that this is the tipping point to success in any economy. The question is – which butterfly will bring about the right effect to enable the most optimal weather change?

Ladies and Gentlemen,

6. The question posed to me today seems rhetorical. Obviously enhancing national competitiveness has to involve more than just PEMUDAH, and more than just the public sector.

7. Let me provide the rationale on the establishment of PEMUDAH. It is generally accepted that when one talks of national competitiveness it is ONLY in reference to the public delivery system. The public sector is placed under scrutiny and how the public service delivery system facilitates or frustrates business becomes the core focus of ANY discussion on national competitiveness.

8. But surely, for a nation to be competitive all the elements in the system must work in concert. Competitiveness cannot stem from the public sector alone. An efficient and effective public delivery system can only emanate from inclusive collaboration of all stakeholders.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

9. It is on the fundamental belief that no one party can be solely responsible for competitiveness of a nation that the then Prime Minister, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi initiated the partnership between the public and private sectors on 7 February 2007. The special task force called PEMUDAH was established, as you well know by now, to improve the ease of doing business in Malaysia.

10. The real strength and value of the PEMUDAH is in creating a sense of urgency to enhance service delivery for the public sector as well as ensuring that the private sector has an equally important role in national competitiveness.

11. From the public sector perspective, PEMUDAH’s focus remains on improving the delivery system. Ultimately, we aim to realise a globally benchmarked, customer-centric, innovative and proactive public service.

12. Towards this end, PEMUDAH initiated improvements on several fronts, particularly on enhancing transparency as well as streamlining processes and procedures. For example, PEMUDAH worked with relevant Government agencies to reduce the time taken for clearance of exports, as well as imports; improvements in tax administration; registration of property; facilitating e-payments; and establishing a one-stop centre to expedite the incorporation of new companies, but to name just a few.

13. Now, we can obtain our passport in 2 hours; register freehold property in 41 days (previously 144 days); and with regards to trade facilitation, the approval process from pre-submission of documents through to clearance of cargo is now done within a day compared to 3 days previously.

14. While PEMUDAH’s achievements are laudable, they are far from adequate. There are two more equally important parts of the value chain that must work as well if Malaysia is to attain the level of global competitiveness that we all aspire.

15. The first is the private sector. They must ensure that the initiatives put in place by the public sector are complemented by an equally efficient private sector. Let me use some of my favourite examples to illustrate.

16. One, when the public service made the commitment to make payments within 14 days, we assumed that the main contractors will cascade similar payment terms to their partners. However, we find that this is often not the case with the result that sub-contractors unfairly blame the Government for late payment, when the fault lies with the main contractors, who despite benefiting from the improvements made by the public sector, have not passed it on to their suppliers or sub-contractors. For the whole system to work efficiently and effectively all parties must complement and reciprocate others’ efforts and improvement initiatives.

17. Two, we get complaints about the long wait for strata titles. As the various land offices work to clear the backlog, it is becoming evident that some of the delays are contributed by developers who have themselves not done the necessary to facilitate the issuance of strata titles. Often owners of the property are unaware of the situation and assume that the delay is caused by the Government.

18. A third example: On the international trade front, the Customs Department has made improvements to its system such that cargo can be cleared within a day. But the Customs Department is not solely responsible for trade across borders. The importers and exporters have to also deal with the logistics service providers, including hauliers and freight forwarders. And we find that these are the folks who are the choke points in the chain. If they take more than 3 days to get cargo moving from point A to point B to the ports or airport, then improvements that the Customs Department makes has little impact on competitiveness.

19. The aim of these examples is not to apportion blame, but to stress that for us to be competitive we must scrutinise the value chain as a whole. Let us identify the weak links, or parts that are made ineffective not only by public service inefficiency, but also by private sector inertia, or inaction. The public sector has changed and is making changes for the better. The private sector must do likewise.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

20. The other equally important component of the value chain is civil society, which includes the media. The role of civil society in how it constrictively acknowledges and accepts standards also defines our level of competitiveness. While we see that the members of the public are increasingly less tolerant of variation in quality of public service delivery, this lack of tolerance must apply across the board. If you will not accept undue delays from counter service at Government Departments, you must likewise voice concerns over similar delays at private sector organisations.

21. Further, civil society must also be aware that it cannot ignore or condone corruption. If we do, we develop a corrupt society. The same can be said for standards of service which we tolerate.

22. In this context the role of media is especially significant. Will you choose to highlight the weakness of one element of the system over another? Will you then because you aligned to a specific cause “spin” the focus on certain points of view while ignoring others? Your work impacts perception of the country and by implication its competitiveness.
Ladies and Gentlemen,

23. Is PEMUDAH or a model such as PEMUDAH enough for Malaysia?

24. It simply cannot be, for if it were, all countries would have fast modelled against it. The question of working in concert, engagement is no longer a choice but a rule.

25. In my mind the question that remains at large, and open for debate in Malaysia is not “Should we engage to better our competitiveness”? but instead, “How do we balance priorities to be competitive?”�

FREE SOCIETY COMES WITH RESPONSIBILITY

26. When a society’s collective priorities is not in sync, the actions and focus wouldn’t tip towards balanced success. There will not be equilibrium in the society. Each would be pulling at different directions, causing tension and frustrations. Allow me to use the example of media in this instance.

27. A free media is a vital part of a free and democratic society, as it is free for a citizen to speak his or her mind. Debates, disagreements and discussions are seeds of a rich and mature society. But in such freeness there must also be maturity, there must be balance, there must be responsibility and accountability. There cannot but be a total sense of realisation that the overall good of the country and its people must always, but always remain at the fore.

28. When we each execute our areas of responsibilities with such a mindset and commitment, no matter the vocation, I am sure we would not succumb to sensations, hearsays and speculations. It is unlikely that we would let rumours rule over facts, have sensational headlines rule over competitiveness of a nation.

29. As parents, teachers, adults, leaders and citizens, we each must accept the burden of responsibility to ensure our national competitiveness is not short changed for a one minute, one headline sensation.

30. In our pursuit for realism, we should not lose grip on reality itself. In our quest to truth we cannot relent to purported altruism. In our search for excellence, we cannot give in to sparing emotions that could destroy all that makes excellence. True competitiveness emerges when all that makes that society rise with a common purpose of the nation as its bearing. It abounds, when we are able to maturely discern the butterfly effect of our every action. Lasting competitiveness, I feel comes when a society advances without losing its heart.

31. Ultimately strengthening national competitiveness means that we must be acutely aware of how we impact on each other’s performance and how our day-to-day decisions affect people and the larger systems around us. The imperative for all of us is to understand that each of us have a role in ensuring Malaysia’s competitiveness.

With that, I thank you for your attention.

Wabillahittaufiq walhidayah
Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.