New Straits Times, 4 April, 2008.
By : Hamisah Hamid

THE PRIVATE sector delivery system and its integrity needs to be reviewed to ensure they are supportive of business and national competitiveness, co-chairman of the special task force to facilitate business (Pemudah) said.

Chief secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan said a company might be efficient but if elements in the market do not match the company's efficiency level, then the said company might not be as successful as it could be.

"The general assumption that business is market-driven and therefore only the most efficient survive is not entirely true

"Just as the public service delivery system is often scrutinised, there is a need to review private sector service delivery systems and its integrity," he said at a CEO networking luncheon talk organised by International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Also present were Prime Minister's Department implementation coordination unit director-general Tan Sri Khalid Ramli, Pemudah co-chairman and Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers president Tan Sri Yong Poh Kon, and ICC Malaysia chairman Datuk Mustafa Mansur.

Mohd Sidek cited financial institutions, which he said may be so risk averse that they make it difficult for the small and medium enterprises to start and expand.

This, he said can result in the government having to intervene by coming out with innovative solutions and creative business models.

Mohd Sidek also acknowledgesd the importance of alternative media as he said the public service today has to respond not only to the conventional media but also the alternative media.

"The speed of information is such that countries and companies today need web-based crisis management plans to address effects of negative blogging in times of crisis," he said.

To meet the current challenges, Mohd Sidek said Malaysia's public and private sector need people who possess a world view that integrates entrepreneurial dynamism with selfless nation-building. (END)