Move aims to cut unnecessary processes, reduce costs and minimise room for corruption. NSTP/FILE PIC
PETALING JAYA: The government is reviewing processes and systems to fully transition business applications online, allowing entrepreneurs to avoid spending unnecessary time following up with officers on application status.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh said unnecessary procedures would be eliminated to ease the administrative burden on businesses, improve time and cost efficiency and reduce room for corruption.
Speaking at the Malaysia Retail Chain Association (MRCA) Installation and 34th Anniversary Night, Hannah said the government must also improve its delivery systems if businesses were expected to adapt and improve.
"I may not have the money to put cash in your hands, but I promise to review and cut out corruption, to cut out unnecessary processes so that you can save money and time, and make business easier for everybody. You have enough challenges dealing with online business and global trends," she said here today.
She said practical administrative changes had already been implemented to provide business owners with greater certainty.
For instance, Hannah said eligible Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) business licences could now be renewed for up to three years, with businesses opting for a two-year renewal receiving a five per cent discount, while a three-year renewal came with a 10 per cent discount.
To further encourage the entertainment and events sector in Kuala Lumpur, Hannah said deposits for concerts and local shows had been reduced by 70 per cent.
On the evolving retail landscape, she urged physical retailers to adapt to changing consumer behaviour by transforming malls into community hubs offering dynamic food, cultural and entertainment experiences.
She said giving consumers compelling reasons to visit and stay was crucial, especially as online shopping became increasingly dominant.
Hannah also advised traditional businesses to consider employing younger talent to help with digitalisation, noting that both young people and senior citizens were now active users of e-wallets and online shopping platforms. - FMT
A screenshot of the official Negri Sembilan government portal shows only Datuk Ismail Lasim listed as a member of the state executive council.
SEREMBAN: The photographs of 10 Negri Sembilan executive councillors (exco) have been removed from the official state government portal.
A check by Sinar Harian found that only Mentri Besar Datuk Ismail Lasim's photograph remained under the State Executive Council section.
Ismail currently holds three portfolios: Islamic Affairs and Security; Finance, Land and Natural Resources; and Investment, Infrastructure, Utilities, Communications and Felda.
The development follows the gazetting on Thursday (Sept 24) of the cancellation of the appointments of the 10 exco members.
The gazette stated that Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir had revoked their appointments with effect from Sept 20 under Article 38(5) of the Negri Sembilan Constitution 1959.
The executive councillors are Datuk Mohd Faizal Ramli, Datuk Zaifulbahri Idris, Datuk Mustapha Nagoor, Siow Kong Choon, Siti Nur Umaira Hasim, Datuk Mohd Asna Amin, Datuk Mohd Razi Mohd Ali, Suhaimizan Bizar, Mohd Fairuz Mohd Isa and Datuk Razali Abu Samah.
According to the gazette, all 10 had taken and signed their oaths and pledges of allegiance before Tuanku Muhriz on Aug 7 before assuming their posts.
However, they were found to have violated their oath of office by their actions on Sept 15 when they agreed on the removal of Tuanku Muhriz as the Yang di-Pertuan Besar.
"In view of your breach of the pledge of allegiance, I hereby withdraw My consent and revoke your appointments as members of the Negri Sembilan State Executive Council," Tuanku Muhriz said in the gazette.
The gazette also stated that under Article 38(5) of the Negri Sembilan Constitution 1959, an executive councillor, other than the Mentri Besar, holds office at the pleasure of Tuanku Muhriz.
On Sept 20, Istana Negeri Sembilan announced that Tuanku Muhriz had revoked the appointments of all the executive councillors with immediate effect.
Ismail was then reported as saying that the councillors had been barred from entering their offices at Wisma Negeri since Wednesday and from carrying out their duties.
He declined to name who issued the directive to bar the exco members but claimed that the instruction was conveyed verbally by the authorities, with no written court order or police directive given.
The Mentri Besar also maintained that he had never been consulted or advised about the termination of any exco member and that the existing lineup was still valid under Article 38(5) of the state constitution. - Star
Perdana menteri berkata, peruntukan disalur agar pelajar dapat tuntut ilmu dalam persekitaran yang lebih selesa dan selamat.
PM Anwar Ibrahim berkata, kerajaan Madani akan terus martabatkan syiar Islam dengan perkukuh institusi pendidikan Islam. (Gambar Bernama)
PETALING JAYA: Perdana Menteri Anwar Ibrahim meluluskan peruntukan tambahan berjumlah RM2.8 juta tahun ini untuk membaik pulih infrastruktur asas di 14 institusi pendidikan Islam di seluruh Kedah.
Anwar yang juga menteri kewangan berkata, peruntukan itu disalurkan agar para pelajar dapat menuntut ilmu dalam persekitaran yang lebih selesa dan selamat.
“Kerajaan Madani akan terus memartabatkan syiar Islam dengan memperkukuh institusi pendidikan Islam serta menyuburkan pengajian dan kefahaman ilmu hadis dalam masyarakat,” katanya menerusi hantaran di Facebook.
Dalam pada itu, perdana menteri turut mengumumkan peruntukan berjumlah RM250,000 bagi pelaksanaan Program Khatam Hadis Sunan Sittah dan Musthola Hadis.
Kedua-dua peruntukan itu, katanya, akan diselaras oleh Unit Penyelarasan Pelaksanaan (ICU), Jabatan Perdana Menteri Negeri Kedah.
“Semoga ikhtiar ini membawa manfaat kepada para pelajar dan terus menyuburkan budaya ilmu dalam masyarakat,” katanya. - FMT
THE coordinated call by nationalist leaders in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for constitutional change represents more than another chapter in Britain’s long-running devolution debate.
The Cardiff declaration signals a deeper question: can the United Kingdom continue to function as a stable multinational union when political authority, national identity and constitutional expectations are increasingly diverging?
The September 2026 pact is significant because Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are no longer approaching Westminster separately.
The summit was intended to demonstrate cooperation among the UK’s Celtic nations, although their constitutional circumstances and political objectives remain substantially different.
The immediate explanation lies in dissatisfaction over the distribution of political power. Devolution created legislatures and governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but ultimate constitutional authority remains with Westminster.
The resulting tension is structural: devolved governments increasingly exercise substantial domestic powers while the UK Parliament retains constitutional sovereignty.
(Image: Layers of London)
Scotland’s independence debate is the most advanced, following the 2014 referendum and continuing demands for another vote. Wales has historically shown lower support for independence, but Plaid Cymru has increasingly sought powers comparable to Scotland’s.
Northern Ireland occupies a different constitutional position because its future is tied to the principle of consent under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which provides a legal pathway for a referendum on Irish reunification under specified circumstances.
The Cardiff declaration should not be dismissed as nationalism alone. It reflects competing perceptions of democratic legitimacy, representation, economic distribution and the appropriate balance between central and territorial government.
The implications extend beyond Britain because the UK remains an important Commonwealth member.
Today’s Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 56 sovereign and equal states rather than an extension of British power, although the British monarch continues to serve as its symbolic Head.
A prolonged British constitutional crisis could therefore have wider consequences. London’s diplomatic attention could become increasingly absorbed by domestic constitutional negotiations.
The Commonwealth could eventually face difficult questions about representation should the UK’s territorial structure change.
More broadly, the episode reinforces the organisation’s post-imperial character by demonstrating that constitutional identity and sovereignty are not uniquely British questions.
Importantly, the Commonwealth Charter emphasises democracy, the rule of law, consultation and sovereign equality, giving the organisation an institutional vocabulary for navigating constitutional change without taking sides over any state’s territorial future.
For Malaysia, the lesson is especially relevant because Malaysia is itself a federation. Yet Britain’s experience cannot simply be transplanted onto Malaysia.
Malaysia’s constitutional structure emerged from a distinct historical settlement involving Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak, while the UK evolved through successive unions followed by devolution. Their constitutional foundations are fundamentally different.
Nevertheless, Britain’s experience highlights a central federal question: how much political, fiscal and administrative autonomy can constituent territories exercise before demands for greater sovereignty become politically unavoidable?
That question resonates with Sabah and Sarawak. The British experience suggests that federal stability depends not only on the formal allocation of powers, but also on perceptions of fairness, representation, resource distribution and respect for territorial identities.
The implementation of federal-state arrangements, including the constitutional position of Sabah and Sarawak, therefore remains an important component of Malaysia’s long-term cohesion.
(Image: Harian Metro)
There is also a practical Malaysia-UK dimension. Bilateral relations extend well beyond the Commonwealth, encompassing trade, investment, education, legal services, digitalisation, clean energy and security.
The UK is now a fellow member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), while negotiations on a Malaysia-UK Digital Trade Agreement began in 2026.
Security cooperation deserves particular attention. Britain remains a member of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) alongside Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.
Although Britain’s treaty commitments remain intact, prolonged domestic constitutional pressures could affect political attention, defence priorities and resource allocation over time.
Malaysia’s response should therefore be neither alarm nor complacency. Instead, it should strengthen institutional resilience: deepening ASEAN-centred diplomacy, diversifying economic and security partnerships, maintaining constructive ties with Britain, and ensuring that federal arrangements remain responsive and credible.
Britain’s constitutional uncertainty ultimately offers Malaysia a broader lesson about federalism itself.
A federation or multinational union survives not simply because constitutional documents say it should, but because its constituent territories continue to regard the political bargain as legitimate, workable and responsive.
Britain’s debate may be unfolding in Westminster, but the questions it raises about federal resilience will resonate well beyond the United Kingdom.
R. Paneir Selvam is Principal Consultant at Arunachala Research & Consultancy Sdn Bhd (ARRESCON), a think tank specialising in strategic national and geopolitical analysis.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT
MALAYSIA closed 2025 with renewable energy accounting for 31% of installed electricity generation capacity, meeting the Malaysia Renewable Energy Roadmap target on schedule.
The government has since raised its sights to 32% this year, 35% by 2030, 40% by 2035 and 70% by 2050 under the National Energy Transition Roadmap, while committing to retire coal from the electricity system by 2044.
Since the roadmap’s launch in July 2023, around 5.5 gigawatts of new renewable capacity has been approved and more than RM25 billion in investment attracted.
Judged by targets and investment commitments, Malaysia is making progress. Judged by how the system actually delivers, three things stand out.
First, ambition is not the problem.
Malaysia is not short of renewable energy policy. The Feed-in Tariff, Net Energy Metering, Large Scale Solar, the Corporate Green Power Programme, the Green Electricity Tariff, the National Energy Policy, the transition roadmap and the New Industrial Master Plan all point in the same direction.
Anyone arguing that Malaysia lacks commitment to renewable energy is arguing against the record.
(Image: Shutterstock)
But installed capacity is also the easiest number to celebrate. Meeting a capacity target is largely a procurement achievement.
It does not tell us how long projects waited for approval, how much electricity they ultimately generated, or whether the next project will move any faster.
Second, delivery remains scattered across too many hands.
The Energy Transition and Water Transformation Ministry leads national policy. The Sustainable Energy Development Authority administers programmes such as the Feed-in Tariff and Net Energy Metering.
The Energy Commission regulates the electricity sector and oversees Large Scale Solar. Tenaga Nasional Berhad operates the grid that every project must eventually connect to. The Economy Ministry shapes investment priorities, the Department of Environment handles environmental approvals, and state governments control the land.
Each institution’s role is defensible. Together, however, they can behave bagai enau dalam belukar, melepaskan pucuk masing-masing; like the enau palm in the thicket, each shoot pushing upward on its own.
Every agency may complete its own task, yet the system still slows because no single institution is responsible for the sequence rather than the individual step.
Malaysia’s federal structure makes this more complex. National targets are set federally, but land approval, planning permission and development priorities belong largely to the states.
Sarawak operates under its own electricity supply framework, while Penang has developed its own sustainability planning approach.
This diversity is constitutional, not a flaw to be abolished. But it does mean Malaysia’s national renewable energy figure is an aggregate of several distinct systems, without a permanent forum where federal and state planners can resolve sequencing issues before projects reach multiple approval counters.
The consequences are practical.
Across Asia, renewable energy financing studies consistently rank approval complexity, implementation uncertainty and grid access above capital availability as barriers.
Developers can price technology risks. What they struggle to price is an unpredictable approval journey.
The second consequence is less visible. Different agencies report different data using different definitions and reporting cycles.
Malaysia can confidently state its installed capacity share, yet struggle to answer governance questions that matter equally: How long do approvals take? How much approved capacity is actually generating electricity? Where are the bottlenecks?
Third, the solution is coordination rather than another restructuring exercise.
(Image: The Star)
Malaysia does not necessarily need another roadmap. It needs stronger institutional choreography.
Three measures would make a meaningful difference: a permanent national renewable energy coordination platform chaired at ministerial level with authority to sequence decisions across agencies; a formal federal-state coordination mechanism to resolve land and planning issues alongside national targets; and a shared public data platform using common definitions to track approvals, project timelines and actual electricity generation, not capacity alone.
None of these requires agencies to surrender their mandates. That is precisely their strength.
Coordination reform may be the cheapest energy policy available. It adds no generation capacity, buys no equipment and subsidises no tariffs. It simply reduces friction within the system already in place.
The public also has a role. Households and businesses can adopt rooftop solar through Net Energy Metering, commercial users can choose greener electricity options, and communities can scrutinise state-level planning decisions where projects often slow down.
Transparency matters because institutions tend to coordinate faster when someone outside is keeping score.
The arithmetic ahead is unforgiving. Moving from 31% to 70% renewable capacity while retiring coal by 2044 will become progressively harder as prime sites become scarcer, grid constraints intensify and coordination challenges multiply.
Malaysia has shown it can set ambitious energy targets and meet important milestones.
The less celebrated challenge now is building the institutional machinery that turns those targets into a system that works.
Megat Amirul Saifulnizam Megat Kamarul Bahrin is a Master of Public Policy candidate at the International Institute of Public Policy and Management (INPUMA), Universiti Malaya. Azizi Abu Bakar is a Research Officer at the Sustainable Development Centre (UMSDC), Universiti Malaya, and Data Steward for Universiti Malaya Open Science (UMOS).
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
