Bumiputera Retailers Organisation president Ameer Ali Mydin, described Geoffrey William’s idea as a “non-solution”.

He said foreigners are already permitted to obtain licenses for certain types of businesses – “but don’t tell me that Malaysia should be giving licenses to foreigners (to operate) convenience stores and wholesale markets”.

He said such businesses should be left to Malaysians as they require less expertise to run.

Ameer told FMT that Malaysia should focus on attracting foreign investment and not on “allowing (just) anyone to come in and open up all kinds of businesses”.

“(Otherwise) where are our locals going to find work, when are our locals going to become business people (entrepreneurs) if we give all this to foreigners?” he said.

The proposal by Williams, a professor at Malaysia University of Science and Technology, came in response to calls for a law against Ali Baba practices in the use of business licences by migrant workers.

On Dec 24, economy minister Rafizi Ramli said the proposed “anti-Ali Baba” legislation to end rent-seeking practices could be used against business owners who abuse their licences, which had led to an increase of foreign-controlled establishments in the city centre.

Williams said there is “little economic harm” in letting foreigners run these businesses and the solution was to “change the rules of the game to allow the market to function” by “cutting out the middlemen” and letting foreigners apply for the licences and run the businesses directly.

However, Ameer said Williams’ proposal to “legalise” the practice of rent-seeking would defeat the much-needed transparency to ensure license holders are accountable.

SME Association of Malaysia secretary-general Chin Chee Seong said enforcement could still be the weakest link in the Williams proposal.

A solution was to allow a few government agencies to obtain the licenses to operate businesses, thus creating some competition for local businesses and helping to drive down consumer prices.