Ease of doing business: cases of Malaysia, Pakistan

In 2010, Malaysia was ranked No 116 in the world in terms of ease of construction permits, which was one of the many parameters that the World Bank used to compare countries on the “Ease of Doing Business”. On the instructions of then prime minister Najib Razak, a high-powered task force with equal representation from the government and private sector was constituted, which was backed by the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC) as its secretariat. Pemudah undertook a thorough review of business licences’ requirements by doing a diagnostic of more than 778 regulations during 2011-2013. As a result, the government streamlined 691 regulations, eliminated 36 and maintained 51 licences. This resulted in cost saving of approximately $250 million per year, which would have otherwise been spent by the private sector in terms of time and money for compliance. A report was presented in parliament. This process provided strong legal foundations for constant improvement in business climate.