Get rid of red-tape & bureaucracy to make Malaysia competitive

DAP National Deputy Chairman and MP for Kepong Dr Tan Seng Giaw reiterates that the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak must put in effective measures to cut down red-tape, bureaucrcy and other irregularities to make Malaysia competitive.

On 12.9.2010 Dr Tan comments on the Prime Minister's 'fairer affirmative action and making Malaysia competitive'.

After the Aidilfitri celebrations, we are back to work. Najib prattles on the New Economic Model (NEM) instead of the New Economic Policy (NEP). He Insists that the aim of NEM is to develop a more equitable society towards long-term stability.

"Affirmative action should be fairer, more transparent and market-friendly."

"If we don't make changes, if we don't reform, Malaysia will slide backwards. We are convinced about that. We will lose our competitive edge. We are doing all these because we are committed to Vision 2020," Najib added.

While Najib talks about having no less emphasis on drive against corruption, Government Transformation Programme and National Key Result Areas, he should really look into the red-tape and bureaucracy among the 1.22 million civil servants. This is an important problem that affects Malaysia's competitiveness. One indicator is to look at the efficiency of our major ports.

As we are waiting for more effective action agianst those people who were truly involved in the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal, we notice that it takes four to five days for containers to be cleared in Port Klang. It is about one week at Tanjung Pelepas.

If a container ship docks at Singapore Port in the morning, the containers can leave the port within 24 hours. Najib should check the actual time needed to clear containers at our major ports.

Dr Tan Seng Giaw