KUALA LUMPUR (April 12): The Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC) will carry out a trial on the permit application approval procedure renewal for expatriates working in Malaysia, starting in May this year.

This follows the announcement by Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli during the Special Task Force to Facilitate Business (Pemudah) meeting held on Tuesday (April 11).

MPC director-general Datuk Abdul Latif Abu Seman said the renewal trial would be implemented for two weeks, beginning May 15, 2023, targeting selected industries.

“The initiative will also introduce two application categories, namely Fast Track for companies with good record that enable the process to be shortened to five days, and the Normal Track for application by new companies which require a 15-day process compared to the current period of 87 days.

“The local authorities have been proposed to prepare [the] comprehensive Centralised Guidelines and clear checklists for reference through the new procedure.

"The meeting also determined that each approving agency involved uses the Risk-Based and Industry Accountability method. The companies will be fully responsible for each application and heavy penalties and blacklisting will be imposed if found to be non-transparent during enforcement,” he said.

According to Abdul Latif, the trial must be done prior to the full implementation of the new procedure, which is scheduled to begin in June 2023 through the One Single Window Expatriate Services Division (ESD) system, managed by the Immigration Department of Malaysia.

The ESD will be upgraded to One Single Window ESD by bringing together approving and regulatory agencies at one platform, to shorten and standardise the application period for the permission to plan .

He added that Pemudah and MPC will act as a driving force and provide advisory services in ensuring the effectiveness of the implementation of this initiative and will continue to be committed to modernising business rules to facilitate the administrative affairs of industry players.

“The improvement in the expatriate pass application procedure also facilitates the government's agenda in bringing more high-impact investors, as announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

"Quality and agile business regulations are one of the contributing factors [towards] increased competitiveness, as well as supporting the country's productivity growth rate target of 3.6% per year throughout the 12th Malaysia Plan period,” Abdul Latif added.