Doing the right thing is getting more susah in Malaysia.

Yesterday, just before a Hash run, I bumped into an old hasher friend.

Quick small talk.
He asked, “How’s business?”
I asked back, “How’s yours?”

He runs an optical shop in Johor Bahru.
More than 40 years already. A seasoned businessman.

And his answer was simple and heavy.

“Cost is going up. But what is worse… too many unlicensed optical shops around.”

He is right.

Dispensing opticians are a regulated profession. They are supposed to be licensed and registered.

But many shops operate without proper licensing.

So the honest ones face with rising staff and rent and compliance cost.

Then I remembered a case.

Years ago, the Securities Commission pulled back the IPO of an optical company.

Why?

Some branches operated without licensed opticians.

I told him, “Same in our industry. Audit and tax, services. Many unlicensed players.”

They undercut.
They ignore rules.
They don’t bear the cost you bear.”

Then I read MIA’s practice review.

MIA found cases where :

• Firms prepared accounts for audit clients.
• Freelancers were used with no contracts, no independence checks, no control.
• Audit managers acted as company secretaries for their own audit clients.
• Audit files lacked evidence to support the audit opinion.
• Secretary firm share audit firm same phone number.

Then I thought of traffic summons.

Pay early full amount.
Wait long enough massive discount.

So who gets rewarded?

How many SMEs out there feel this same quiet unfairness every day?