Being “shuffled” from one department to another, needing approvals from multiple parties, and facing a host of other tedious requirements—often labelled as bureaucratic red tape—have long burdened Malaysia’s public administration.
Generally, these issues hinder the smooth implementation of policies and initiatives, which in turn affect the government's efforts to deliver the best services to the people, including in matters related to economic and social development.
Recognising the need for a systematic solution—especially as the public grows more discerning and demands greater transparency, efficiency and swift action—the MADANI government introduced the Bureaucratic Red Tape Reform (RKB) as part of its commitment to fulfilling the 15th General Election manifesto.
Through a circular dated Nov 24, 2024, Malaysia’s public sector enforced the RKB to address bureaucratic hurdles, including abolishing “outdated” rules and work practices across all government agencies, with the aim of enhancing delivery-system efficiency and national productivity.
RKB is also projected to generate cost savings of RM1.5 billion in 2025.
BOUND BY OLD WORK CULTURE
While experts agree that the RKB has the potential to drive comprehensive reforms in the public sector and modernise the country’s administrative structure, they also acknowledge challenges in its implementation.
Public administration expert Associate Professor Dr Khairunneezam Mohd Noor said that despite the circular issued a year ago, the old work culture persists in some government agencies, largely because civil servants remain “comfortable” with practices that have long taken root.
“The bureaucratic issue continues because past reforms often stalled during implementation, largely due to work cultures that are difficult to change.
“Many officers (civil servants) are still comfortable with manual systems, while department leaders are not consistently encouraging officers to embrace these RKB-driven changes,” he told Bernama.
He added that complaints about slow and inefficient services remain, despite various government initiatives—including digitalisation and the whole-of-government approach—intended to streamline processes involving multiple agencies or ministries.
This situation, he said, reflects a gap between the envisioned transformation policies and on-the-ground implementation, exposing the fact that government services continue to struggle with old systems, structures and cultural norms.
“The Edelman Trust Barometer Malaysia 2023 found that trust in government agencies hovered around 62 per cent. Among the key sources of dissatisfaction are slow services, lack of customer-friendliness and perceived lack of transparency due to bureaucratic red tape.
“When people face delays in matters such as aid applications, licence renewals or complaint resolutions, they tend to conclude that the government as a whole is inefficient. This damages institutional reputation and weakens public confidence,” he said.
He added that bureaucratic hurdles also have negative impacts when work processes are overly layered and require many approval stages before a decision can be finalised—such as repeatedly filling in the same forms or needing to submit physical documents despite digitalisation efforts.
“For example, small projects in schools or district offices may still require multiple levels of approval or signatures even if the allocated budget is small. Some approvals take months because they involve numerous committees and protocol requirements.
“It is undeniable that government organisational structures are complex, with long hierarchical layers and overlapping jurisdictions, which indirectly delay decision-making. Such structures make administrative processes rigid and inflexible, reducing the government’s ability to respond quickly in urgent situations,” he explained.
He cited South Korea as a successful example in reducing bureaucratic burdens through the ‘regulatory guillotine’ method, which abolishes large numbers of outdated rules—an approach Malaysia’s public sector could emulate.
RED TAPE
A similar view was shared by Dr Fairuzzaman Shaharuddin, Head of the Research Secretariat of Pertubuhan Naratif Malaysia, who described RKB as a realistic effort to overhaul an administrative structure long weighed down by unnecessary processes.
He said the purpose of RKB is clear: to reduce red tape in the government system, thereby ensuring that service delivery becomes more efficient and transparent.
“RKB operates by cutting red tape through the removal of rules that are irrelevant or do not add value… Yes, certain rules are needed for ISO or standardisation, but many can actually be reduced or improved.
“In today’s fast-moving economic environment, inefficiencies—including project approval delays, overlapping processes and misalignment between government agencies—can significantly impact the investment climate. Hence red tape must be eliminated to keep Malaysia competitive in a global landscape that demands efficient governance,” he said.
Fairuzzaman added that RKB implementation is expected to improve administrative efficiency by reducing documentation requirements, standardising procedures across departments, eliminating overlapping conditions and expanding digital systems.
These reforms, he said, must be supported by a more professional, performance-driven work culture, including integrated data across agencies to prevent duplication of tasks.
“This transformation is already reflected in today’s government and results can be seen through improved efficiency in public service. This includes General Circular No. 4 of 2024, which serves as a new benchmark in strengthening the role of the public service as a driver of reform.
“One of the reported benefits, according to the Performance Acceleration Coordination Unit (PACU), is cost savings of more than RM800 million due to RKB’s implementation at various ministerial and local authority levels, and these savings are expected to continue increasing until year end,” he said.
Records also show that Malaysia has risen to 23rd place in the 2025 World Competitiveness Report, up from 34th the previous year—its best performance since 2020.
This improvement was driven by strong performance in trade, administrative efficiency and investment environment, signalling the success of the MADANI government’s reforms.
MAKING LIFE EASIER FOR THE PEOPLE
Meanwhile, senior lecturer at Universiti Teknologi Mara’s Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies, Dr Mazlan Che Soh, said RKB is a government approach to ensure that newly drafted rules or laws are of high quality, transparent, effective and do not burden the public.
Through these measures, he said, the government has given the public sector a ‘new face’ while strengthening organisational structures to meet current needs.
Thus, RKB will become a catalyst and the best approach to ensure that citizens are no longer burdened by various bureaucratic hurdles.
He said one visible example of RKB’s success is the Home Ministry’s effort to expedite passport renewal processes through kiosks and a digital appointment system, which reduced congestion at immigration offices.
“With simpler processes and clear service-time standards, the public no longer needs to queue for long hours or repeatedly fill in the same forms.
“And undoubtedly, more departments and agencies will introduce such innovative measures to reduce bureaucratic red tape. To me, this is the right path to improving public services and restoring people’s confidence in the government,” he said.
Mazlan added that RKB is currently the most significant transformation affecting public agencies, bringing substantial benefits to the people.
Among the most positive impacts, he said, is the increased accessibility of government services, with many tasks now executable at one’s fingertips.
“With the comprehensive reforms by the MADANI government, the public will see significant differences—for example, faster MyKad processing, digital road-tax renewal via the Road Transport Department app, and automatic approval for certain business licences under local authorities.
“Processes that previously took days or even months can now be completed quickly. Paying land tax, assessment fees and other government services can be done online, offering major savings in cost, time and energy,” he said.
STRENGTHENING INTEGRITY
Mazlan added that although some weaknesses remain, the government is committed to making improvements.
He said that efficiency in public services not only enhances public feedback but also strengthens government integrity through clearer, more organised procedures free from elements that may lead to abuse of power.
“For instance, when applications are processed transparently, statuses can be checked in real time, and complaints receive immediate responses, the public perceives the government as more transparent, which in turn boosts their confidence in public agencies.
“This can be seen in the Works Ministry’s ‘sick project dashboard,’ which provides transparent updates on delayed projects and ongoing recovery measures. The same applies to the list of housing developers involved in problematic projects issued by the Housing and Local Government Ministry,” he explained.
He added that these reforms not only improve public-service efficiency but also strengthen government revenue through reduced leakages and higher compliance levels.
At the same time, RKB helps agencies operate more efficiently with a results-oriented approach, creating a delivery system trusted by industry players.
“According to a previous report by the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC), Licensed Manufacturing Warehouse (LMW) companies saved up to RM200 million annually following significant improvements to the customs-approved warehouse clearance system, introduced through government reforms.
“This change also reduced processing time from three days to just one minute through active collaboration between relevant agencies, including the Royal Malaysian Customs Department and MPC,” he said.
RKB was designed by the government to review existing regulations to ensure efficient administration, improved productivity and reduced unnecessary regulatory burdens on the public and businesses.
The programme aims to contribute to national productivity growth and improve bureaucratic indicators in the World Competitiveness Report, with a target to reach 12th position by 2030.
— BERNAMA
RKB, public service efficiency, people, bureaucracy, social
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