AT high levels of government and business, a standard response to a major problem is to form a commission, committee, council, institute or some other body to study the matter and come up with recommendations and solutions.

Sometimes, very little is achieved in the end, and to most people, it is just more time, money and effort going down the drain. This calcifies the cynicism towards any bid to set up yet another body to tackle an issue.



Therefore, when then prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced in January 2007 that a task force would be established to address bureaucracy in business-government dealings, few people saw this as any different from past attempts to cut red tape.

In fact, Pemudah (the Bahasa Malaysia acronym for the Special Task Force To Facilitate Business) has surpassed most people’s expectations.

It is widely regarded as an effective and influential platform for the civil service and the business community to exchange ideas on how public service delivery can be honed and the business environment improved so that Malaysia can be more competitive globally.

Last year, for example, Pemudah had a hand in public service delivery improvements on many fronts, specifically on enhancing transparency and streamlining processes and procedures. These include:

·Faster property registration and building approvals;

·The establishment of a one-stop centre for business registration;

·Speedier processing and approval of applications for expatriate posts and passes;

·Widening the option of online payment for government services;

·The development of an Internet-based system for business licence applications

·Swifter cargo clearance; and

·The introduction of electronic registration of tax files.

Details of these initiatives are available in the Pemudah annual report 2008, which can be downloaded from the task force’s website (www.pemudah.gov.my).

Established on Feb 7, 2007, Pemudah reports directly to the prime minister. The task force comprises 23 individuals – 13 heads of selected ministries and departments and 10 business leaders.

It is co-chaired by Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan and Tan Sri Yong Poh Kon, the immediate past president of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers.

Pemudah’s vision is to achieve a “globally benchmarked, customer-centric, innovative and proactive public service in support of a vibrant, resilient and competitive economy and society”.

This is underpinned by the following values:

• A sense of urgency
• Proactive public-private sector collaboration
• Facilitation, not hampering
• No more regulation than necessary
• Zero tolerance for corruption