He said many potential investments were bogged down by such delays.

“I have been approached by banks from Japan to put money into the country to help SMEs. But we have to go through the regulatory process that may take a bit of time,” he said.

He also said funds from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have difficulty getting approval, adding that this affects the development of the halal industry as well as a RM10 billion petrochemical complex to be built by Russia.

“I am not criticising my own government. We need approval from the Cabinet and central bank and others. Many (investors) are shying away because there is no response by the relevant agencies and the delay,” Redzuan told reporters after delivering the keynote address at an event organised by Kingsley Strategic Institute.

Redzuan said if there is a lack of local funds to develop SMEs, the government has to be creative in attracting foreign funds.

“If we don’t have enough funds to accelerate SMEs, it will be a waste as there are a lot of talents, innovators and human capital involved,” said Redzuan.

Earlier, in his speech at the Malaysian Economic Summit, Redzuan said the government will launch the “National Entrepreneurship Policy 2030” (NEP2030) on July 11, 2019.

NEP2030 is a long-term strategic plan to establish Malaysia as a full-fledged entrepreneurial nation by 2030.