KUCHING: The Sarawak Business Federation (SBF) welcomes the allocation of RM1.9 million in the Sarawak 2027 Budget for the development of an Ease of Doing Business Reform Blueprint.
SBF’s president, Datuk Jonathan Chai Voon Tok said the federation supports the reform, adding that this is an encouraging step towards improving Sarawak’s business environment.
“We hope the initiative will translate into tangible improvements through simpler procedures, faster approvals, better coordination among government agencies and reduced administrative burdens.
“Ultimately, success should be measured by how much easier it becomes for businesses to operate, invest and grow in Sarawak,” he said.
He said this during his speech at the SBF’s 10th Anniversary Gala Dinner at Amity Hall, UNIFOR Complex, on Saturday night (Oct. 17).
As Sarawak embraces digitalisation and modernises its public services, SBF appeals to the government to continue engaging the business community in reviewing the implementation of the Foreign Workers Transformation Approach (FWTA).
“We recognises the importance of good governance and effective workforce management.
“However, industries have different manpower requirements and operation condition, particularly SMEs, which may have limited resources to absorb traditional compliance costs.
“Therefore, we hope the government will undertake a practical review of the implementation, taking into account the concerns of businesses and ensuring that the requirements remain workable and the costs manageable without compromising the government’s policy objective,” he noted.
Jonathan also believes the most effective reforms are those that improve governance and efficiency while enabling businesses to remain competitive, sustainable and ready to grow.
