US$1.3 BLN IN SAVINGS IF TARGET UNDER REGULATORY BURDEN REDUCTION PROGRAMMES MET

PETALING JAYA (Selangor, Malaysia), Jan 18 (Bernama) -- Malaysia can save about
RM4 billion (US$1.307 billion) if it manages to achieve a 25 per cent reduction
target under the regulatory burden reduction programmes, says International
Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Mukhriz Mahathir.

Mukhriz said statistics had revealed that the annual costs of regulatory burden
expressed as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), was 1.4 per cent in
the UK, 2.4 per cent in Denmark and 3.6 per cent in the Netherlands.

"If we assume that the regulatory burden constitutes a modest figure of 2.5 per
cent of GDP in Malaysia, in 2009 it would have imposed a cost of RM17 billion
when the GDP was at RM662 billion," he said at the Conference on Modernising
Business Regulation here Tuesday. (US$1=RM3.05)

Mukhriz said removing unnecessary regulatory burden through a comprehensive
review of regulations that impacted business innovation and effectiveness was a
priority on the national agenda.

He said the effort would ensure that Malaysia would be on par with global
developments and on the right track to achieve high-income economy status,
through enhanced productivity and competitiveness at the firm level.

On Dec 3, 2010, the concluding part of the New Economic Model endorsed the
National Economic Advisory Council's support of Malaysia Productivity Corp's
(MPC) assignment to design the regulatory burden reduction plan and to follow up
on the effective implementation of regulatory reform initiatives, he said.

Mukhriz said he was confident MPC would be better positioned to undertake the
new tasks entrusted to it.

"I understand that MPC will be organising programmes to enculturise
regulatory review in organisations and agencies, through conducting regulatory
impact analysis, regulation impact statement, cost-benefit analysis and business
cost calculator," he said.

The conference is organised by MPC to provide an understanding on the importance
of regulatory review in the current economic scenario, as well as to explore the
opportunities and options on the benefits of regulatory review on business
operations.

At the conference, MPC also signed a memorandum of understanding with the
Malaysian Centre of Regulatory Studies, University of Malaya to have a common
focus to understand key regulatory issues and their implications, and develop
strategic responses and solutions.
-- BERNAMA