KUALA LUMPUR: The country’s ongoing public sector reforms under the Public Service Reform Agenda (Arpa) have generated more than RM2.72bil in regulatory cost savings since 2024, says Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar.
The Chief Secretary to the Government said the savings were achieved through 1,171 registered projects involving process improvements and bureaucratic reforms.
“Reforms under Arpa have contributed to better institutional efficiency, stronger service delivery, enhanced digitalisation and governance improvements, all of which send a strong signal that Malaysia is serious about reform and competitiveness.
“It is producing tangible outcomes by reducing costs, accelerating approvals, improving competitiveness and strengthening public trust,” he said in his keynote address during a roundtable discussion with business chambers of commerce here yesterday.
Among the notable initiatives was the implementation of the e-Penghulu system, which reduced the registration process for disaster relief assistance and eKasih applications from one hour to just five minutes, he said.
Shamsul Azri also pointed to reforms in construction permit management at the Kulim Municipal Council in Kedah, where approval timelines were shortened from 24 months to 10 months through the E10 system.
A similar initiative at the Kulai Municipal Council in Johor reduced approval periods from 24 months to 14 months.
He said both initiatives had contributed significantly towards increasing investment value, creating employment opportunities and boosting local authority revenue.
The government had also introduced the Demerit Performance Evaluation system for all controlling officers and secretaries-general.
“As of Dec 2025, project implementation performance increased by 122%, the number of sick projects declined by 45%, delayed projects were reduced by 16% and issues related to lack of planning were resolved by as much as 98%,” he said.
He stressed that good governance could not be achieved by the government alone and required a whole-of-nation approach involving the public sector, private sector, business community, civil society, academia and the public.
He noted that countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Taiwan, New Zealand, Australia, Britain and Canada had successfully adopted integrated governance models to improve public service delivery and institutional effectiveness.
“In Malaysia, this commitment is reflected through Arpa, which adopts whole-of-nation and integrated approaches as key pillars in strengthening governance and enhancing a more efficient, transparent and people-centric public administration,” he added.
Shamsul Azri said Malaysia’s aspiration to become one of the top 25 nations in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) by 2030 was realistic and achievable.
“We recorded an improvement in the 2025 CPI, with its score rising by two points to 52 and its ranking improving three spots to 54th place globally, reflecting the country’s continued reform efforts,” he said.
