Malaysia: Potential in raising the ease of doing business

• Mar 22, 2023

KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) foresees vast potential for nudging and behavioural insights (BI) in increasing the ease of doing business in Malaysia.

Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, said BI could be utilised in reducing compliance costs and deploying the optimum level of resources on regulatory or procedural monitoring and enforcement.

“These are key to managing operational costs and maximising profitability. As such, nudging and BI can be a reformative step for quality rule-making and efficient regulatory implementation without relying on heavy-handed or coercive measures,” he said in his opening remarks at the National Conference on Behavioural Insights 2023 via online yesterday.

He also foresees the application by agencies such as Malaysia’s special task force to facilitate business and other regulatory or enforcement entities with a similar mandate to reduce bureaucracy for investors and businesses to achieve the country’s long-term goals.

He said Malaysia welcomed BI applications for effective policies and quality regulations, where a “nudge” is utilised as a gentle push or reminder to help people make better, more appropriate decisions without limiting their freedom of choice.

Last year, with assistance from Malaysia Productivity Corp, Miti conducted a BI project to enhance compliance with the Strategic Trade Act 2010. Nudges such as using plain language, reorganising the information sequence, and emphasising pertinent details had reduced the number of errors in the application process and improved regulatory compliance. — Bernama