KUALA LUMPUR – The mess in the application process on the Covid-19 Intelligent Management System (CIMS) 3.0 website might not have happened if not for an initial tussle between several ministries over who should control the companies’ applications, The Vibes has learnt.
On May 31, the National Security Council (NSC) had made a U-turn by resorting to process all applications for the 17 essential sectors allowed to operate during the current movement control order (MCO) via CIMS. The system is operated by the International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti).
This is because the government found that the other ministries lacked the capability to independently handle applications from those in non-manufacturing sectors.
According to a Miti source, prior to the final decision to allow the ministry to issue approvals for all businesses – manufacturing and non-manufacturing – to operate, several other ministries were initially adamant about taking control of approvals for those sectors under their ambit.
“However, when technical meetings regarding this matter were initiated, Miti was not invited for consultation,” the source said.
“Miti was more than happy to take care of the manufacturing and services sectors as it already has all records based on the previous MCO system.
“However, when the time to implement it came, these ministries gave feedback that their systems were not ready to handle the applications,” the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said.
As a result, the source said, the other ministries simply threw the burden back to Miti and dropped their ongoing registration initiatives, even as consent to operate would still have to come from them. This led to a logjam and approval blunders in CIMS.
Unlike Miti, where 75,000 manufacturers under it have received approval, the current situation has caused many approvals to be stuck instead
Without revealing the names of the other ministries involved, the source added that the situation is further compounded by an increase in sectors allowed to operate compared with during MCO 1.0 early last year.
Despite Miti’s selective replies to certain complaints on social media, neither the ministry nor its minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali have issued a concrete or official response in addressing concerns raised by the applicants at press time.
On May 30, operators of manufacturing and manufacturing-related services (MRS) approved by the government during the total lockdown from June 1 to 14 were told they needed Miti’s approval letter, which can be downloaded from CIMS.
The ministry in a statement had said that sectors other than manufacturing and MRS were required to refer to the NSC or relevant ministries regulating their sectors.
However, since the opening day of registration, the CIMS website continues to be operating under heavy traffic and even crashing on occasions.
Applicants are complaining of irregular and inconsistent results, putting many companies’ operations and future in the lurch.
Checks on Miti’s Twitter and Facebook pages as well as Azmin’s social media accounts yesterday showed them being peppered with complaints by those unable to access its website or register for Miti’s approval. – The Vibes, June 3, 2021
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