Short answer: the last two months of every year are the quietest — and the most dangerous — stretch in a business owner’s calendar. People slow down, wait for the new year, wait for the next budget, wait for “after the holidays”. But your business does not reset when the calendar turns.
Running a business is far more complex now
Running a business today involves too many things moving at once: digital change, technology, platforms, pricing, competition, policy change — and costs you do not control, such as fuel prices that eventually push up the cost of raw materials.
All of it moves quickly. What does not move quickly is how we respond.
That is not a knowledge problem. Most owners already know what needs doing. It is a speed problem.
Just this year, here is what already changed
If you blinked, here is what moved in the last few months:
- 1 September 2026 — the e-invoicing exemption threshold rose from RM1 million to RM3 million in annual turnover. More than 1.1 million MSMEs fell out of the mandate.
- 1 January 2027 — stamp duty self-assessment begins. The burden of classifying instruments now sits with you, not the authority.
- June 2027 — the minimum wage rises to RM2,000 a month, with an exemption for qualifying MSMEs.
- SST at 8% with expanded scope — some of your revenue lines are taxed differently than you may assume.
And we have two months left in this year.
The “wait for the new year” problem
I understand the pull of starting on 1 January. It feels clean. It feels like a fresh page.
But three things happen when you wait:
- Your competitor is not waiting. Every month you postpone is a month they use to learn and test.
- The cost of waiting never shows up in your accounts. You do not see the revenue you gave up — you only see the revenue you have.
- The new year starts with your old year. If your systems, costs and platforms are the same on 2 January as they were on 31 December, nothing changed just because the date did.
Three things I would do in these two months
Not ten. Three.
1. Audit your single largest cost line. Just one. Most owners know which line hurts most but have never sat down and counted it properly. Take one afternoon and count it to the sen.
2. Pick one transition you have postponed for over a year. One platform. One system. One new way of working. Set a start date before 31 December — not after.
3. Finish one decision you already know the answer to. Most of us are not stuck for lack of information. We are stuck because we already know the answer and have not been willing to act on it.
FAQ
Is it better to wait for the new year to start? No. The new year does not change your cost structure, your systems or your habits. It only changes the date.
I am busy closing the year. Should I add more work? You are not adding work — you are moving three decisions from January into December. The result is that the new year starts with momentum instead of planning.
What if I start now and it fails? You will know by January what works and what does not. If you start in January, you will know by March.
Which one matters most? The one hurting you most right now. Start there, not with the most interesting one.
Two months is not a lot of time. But it is enough to change the direction of your next year — if you start today instead of on 1 January.
If you want to know where your business is actually stuck, message me for a business assessment I do myself.
— Datuk Wira Dr Azizan Osman
Sources: Budget 2027 (9 October 2026), LHDNM e-Invoice Guideline version 4.8, Ministry of Finance documents.