It is indeed gratifying to note that the prime minister reckons his recent road show in the UK and US was highly successful and we should see the fruits of this endeavour in the months or years to come.

Well done to the government and to the industry captains who did a 'turun padang' to do some of the pitching work which they are very good at.

I, however, must point out to the government that our service delivery or the 'customer service' attitude of those at the implementing level in the civil service must first be improved tremendously to harvest the fruit of the government's recent road show. Otherwise it will be just business as usual

Agencies at which service levels could be improved include at Bank Negara, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority and other peripheral departments such as the immigration, the income tax, and customs and excise.

If one has had deal with our service delivery people, one would know they have little care business deadlines and cost factors. Many investors who may come will leave just as fast and worse, may spread the world on how bad the bureaucracy is here.

Getting work permits, business licences and so on is an administrative nightmare for the foreign investor, even if he fulfills all the requirements.

The government should actually launch a reverse sting operation - employ some foreigners to try and set up some business activities in Malaysia. The authorities will then be able to see all the obstacles and hindrances which are put in their way by the civil service.

I'm sure that report can be used with great effect to improve the nation's service delivery benchmarks.

The road show does not end in US and UK. It will eventually end up in Malaysia where there will be roadblocks galore which will slow down and frustrate the investors and fund managers.