RKB INITIATIVE SAVES RM1.6 BLN, CUTS BUREAUCRACY NATIONWIDE

By Samantha Tan Chiew Tieng

PUTRAJAYA, Nov 30 (Bernama) -- The Bureaucratic Red Tape Reform (RKB) initiative, one of the key components under the Public Service Reform Agenda, has generated savings of RM1.6 billion to date through more efficient processes and shorter turnaround times at ministries, state governments and local authorities.

Prime Minister’s Department Performance Acceleration Coordination Unit (PACU) executive director Ahmad Jefry Aziz @ Adan said the savings were achieved via modernisation and improvements to work procedures, which shortened processing time for applications and projects, and reduced red tape in licensing and government counter services.

He said RKB, led by the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC), has received 1,007 registered projects, of which 230 have been successfully completed.

“RKB is one of the main initiatives because it has a direct impact on the people. If the processing period for an application can be shortened from 30 days to five days, that clearly reflects more efficient service delivery and the public can feel the benefits directly,” he said.

He was speaking to Bernama in an interview held in conjunction with the ‘Rancakkan MADANI Bersama Malaysiaku’ programme and the National Public Service Reform Convention 2025, to be held from Dec 5 to 7 at Dataran Putrajaya.

Ahmad Jefry said that Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar strongly encourages all ministries and state governments to register projects under RKB to accelerate improvements in public service delivery nationwide.

Participation in RKB is crucial so that MPC can guide agencies to improve existing work processes, including speeding up application processes and using technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance service delivery, he added.

He highlighted that reforms driven by the government through RKB have strengthened governance efficiency and public service delivery, as reflected in Malaysia’s 11-place jump to 23rd position in the World Competitiveness Ranking 2025 by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), from 34th last year.

He said the bureaucracy indicator under the Institutional Framework sub-factor rose 22 places to 14th position, demonstrating the early impact of projects implemented under RKB and their direct contribution to reducing red tape in the public service.

Therefore, these efforts must continue to be monitored and intensified so that the sub-index ranking can be further improved, which in turn will raise Malaysia’s overall WCR position, he said.

“Currently, our overall position is 23rd. With five years to go until 2030 and a target of 12th place, an annual improvement of at least three to four spots would be considered a good achievement,” he said.

In this context, Ahmad Jefry said Malaysia is on the right track, but cannot be complacent, as other countries are also learning from Malaysia’s reform measures.

“What we are doing now is ensuring that the effectiveness of these reforms is not assessed solely based on project completion, but also measured through tangible outcomes such as the RM1.6 billion in savings recorded so far.

“We hope this figure will continue to grow next year to further demonstrate the effectiveness of these initiatives to international evaluators such as IMD,” he said.

Meanwhile, PACU Strategic Planning Section director Mohd Fauzi Mohd Said said of the 1,007 projects implemented under RKB, 684 are at the ministerial level and 323 at the state government level, monitored by MPC, with monthly reports submitted to PACU before being presented to the Chief Secretary to the Government’s office.

Citing the Kulai Fast Lane, he said the system uses AI technology to approve development project applications, as Kulai is recognised as a development corridor for data centre projects.

“This requires several reforms and technical elements, as many investors are from abroad. In terms of capacity building, processes at the local authority level can now be expedited.

“I was informed that approval processes, which previously took between three and six months, can now be shortened to less than a month. When processes are accelerated, investors will be more attracted to invest there,” he said.

He added that a project under the Farmers’ Organisation Authority at the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry, which channels flood relief assistance to paddy farmers, is now more efficient, with processing time cut from four months to two, giving farmers faster help.

Other examples include Immigration Department counter services, which previously took three days but have now been reduced to just one to two days, with some passport renewal applications approved in under an hour.

Mohd Fauzi said the strong progress achieved under RKB has given the government confidence that it can maintain the momentum needed to place Malaysia among the world’s 12 most competitive countries by 2030, in line with the targets of the 13th Malaysia Plan.

-- BERNAMA