KOTA KINABALU, Dec 6 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today announced several immediate policy actions based on feedback from the business community, including easing e-invoicing requirements for small businesses and doubling allocations to speed up tax refunds.

Anwar, who is here following Pakatan Harapan’s crushing defeat in last weekend’s polls, said he wanted to address complaints he received from the ground during the campaigning period.

“The previous e-invoicing threshold of RM500,000 had imposed unnecessary burden on small operators. Big corporations can cope, but SMEs felt the pressure,” he said during his speech at a Sentuhan Madani event with the Sabah state government at the Sabah International Convention Centre here.

He added that small and medium traders had struggled with policies like the above, which he agreed contributed to PH’s losses in urban Chinese areas.

“The Cabinet has agreed to raise the threshold to RM1 million, meaning businesses [operating] below that will not be compelled to implement e-invoicing,” he said.

Anwar said the government would also refine how the threshold is calculated but stressed that the change provides immediate relief.

He also addressed complaints over delayed tax repayments that should have been processed earlier, saying this had been a major burden for SMEs.

“They are required to submit taxes on time but the refunds are late.”

“We have allocated RM2 billion for this fast track refunds but maybe that will not be enough. So I doubled it up till the period of December,” he said, adding that further support may come via a supplementary budget.

“I want to be a leader who not only listens but responds. Leadership is a responsibility, not a privilege.”

He also acknowledged that despite “large allocations” for roads, electricity and water, many Sabahans still faced basic shortages.

Beginning January, all federal-funded infrastructure projects in Sabah will undergo monthly monitoring to identify causes of delay and implementation bottlenecks.

“A state–federal joint committee will be better equipped to accelerate approvals and coordination.

“These matters cannot be delayed any longer. If we don’t act, issues will never be resolved,” he said.

He said major decisions on electricity, water supply and village roads would be made in the next one to two months, with increased allocations planned.