The business community Monday heaved a sigh of relief and felt joyful following the outcome of the 13th general elections (13th GE) where the rakyat gives Barisan Nasional (BN) the mandate to rule again.

Maybank president/chief executive officer, Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar, said the fresh mandate given to Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak reflected the rakyat's confidence in the government to continue building a more progressive and economically-competitive nation in line with the country's Vision 2020.

He said the BN victory will provide a solid platform for the government to continue its various development programmes introduced over the last few years.

Abdul Wahid said the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) was of critical importance to help Malaysia achieve its objective of becoming a developed, high-income, inclusive and sustainable nation.

"I can say with confidence that the banking sector looks forward to supporting the government's ETP. We obviously will stand to benefit from the many financing opportunities that will arise in the near and medium term.

"Indeed, together, we can make Malaysia a leading business and economic centre in the world and cement its position as a leading centre of Islamic finance in the world," he told Bernama in Kuala Lumpur.

The positive reaction over the BN win was also shared by leaders.

J.P. Morgan's managing director/senior country officer for Malaysia, Steve Clayton, said now that the 13th GE were over, the political risks had been reduced and this will ensure continuity in the business environment.

SAS Institute Sdn Bhd managing dierctor, Andrew Tan, said investors will now be more confident to participate aggressively in business.

Help International Corp Bhd excutive director of corporate planning and investor relations, Adam Chan Eu-Kin, said the BN victory will provide certainty in the market and and this will attract foreign investors to Malaysia.

He said the win will give Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak the time to actualise the projects that had been planned.

Chief executive officer of Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd (IWK), Datuk Abdul Kadir Mohd Din, said before the 13th GE, the government had planned a few policies on sewage tariff rate and desludging services for individual septic tanks.

"IWK is now on its way to work on the national water structural programme," he told Bernama.

Abdul Kadir said had the government changed, IWK will probably had to re-plan the programme and it will take time to seek approval from the new government.

He said IWK was also willing to help the government save cost in water treatment process and to increase treated drinking water for Malaysians.

"We propose to the government that we should treat water only for drinking but not for the other activities to save costs," he said.

Managing director of Sun + Lite & Power Sdn Bhd, Nik Hanif Kadir, was confident that the BN will ensure a brighter future for the economy.

He hoped the government will encourage people to get involved in the green technology as the sector was very demanding now.

Sun + Lite & Power has invested Euro 40 million (Euro 1=RM3.98) to acquire 3.2 hectares and a full-fledged solar photovoltaic factory in Germany. -- By Amanina Mohd Yusof, Ethel Oscar, S. Joan Santani and Fauzan Abdul Kadir