I'm based in the west coast of United Kingdom and planning to set up a sizable operation in Malaysia involving a sizable investment but I've just received one of those rude awakenings in business. Every adviser I turned to for advice on this trip told me that I am supposed to 'grease' my way through if I need any sort of approvals or permits in Malaysia.

Worse still, no banker in Malaysia would approve my loan unless I am willing to offer a cut of up to five percent of the loan amount to the 'right' person/s in the bank, regardless of whether I qualify for the loan or otherwise.

Are all these true? This is not the impression I got from Malaysian politicians and officials I talked to in the UK. This is also not the impression I got from my previous visits to Malaysia more than five years ago.

This is truly a disappointment to me as I like the country and the people and would love to spend more time exploring the countryside. I have even gone to the extent of learning some of the local lingo and culture.

Please don't tell me that I now have to find a different country to set up my operations and learn a totally new lingo from a scratch.