Our Company
A practice built on
considered work
Mentari Partners has been guiding founders and investors through Malaysian business incorporation since the firm's early days in Kuala Lumpur. Our work is shaped by a belief that the quality of the beginning sets the quality of what follows.
Back to HomeOur Story
From a small KL practice to a trusted incorporation partner
Mentari Partners began with a straightforward observation: founders setting up their first company in Malaysia were frequently left to work through the regulatory steps on their own — or were handed a checklist without context. The paperwork was filed, but no one had taken the time to explain what each filing meant for the structure they were building.
The firm was founded to address this gap. Our first engagements were with local entrepreneurs in Kuala Lumpur who wanted a private limited company but weren't sure whether an Sdn Bhd was the right shape for their plans. We worked slowly, explained at each step, and kept written records of every decision. That same approach has stayed with us.
Over time, the client mix broadened. We began advising professional service firms on LLP structures, guiding sole proprietors through the transition to corporate forms, and working with foreign investors navigating Malaysia's sectoral equity conditions. Each engagement type requires different expertise, and we have developed that expertise deliberately rather than at speed.
Today, Mentari Partners operates from Level 3, Menara Centara in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman — a few minutes' walk from Chow Kit and the wider business district. Our work remains what it has always been: structured, documented, and delivered with a clear explanation at every stage.
Our Mission
To make the beginning of a Malaysian business as clear and well-structured as the founder deserves — with every filing explained, every agreement purposefully drafted, and every obligation understood before it falls due.
Our Values
- Deliberateness — We work at the pace the engagement requires, not the pace that fills a schedule.
- Transparency — Fees, scope and timelines are agreed in writing before the work begins.
- Accountability — Each engagement has a named practitioner responsible from first call to final filing.
- Plain language — We do not use regulatory complexity as a reason to obscure what we are doing or why.
The People
The practitioners behind each engagement
Our team is deliberately small. Each practitioner carries a focused area of the work and is known personally to the clients they serve.
Ahmad Hafizuddin
Managing Partner
Ahmad leads the firm's Sdn Bhd and foreign investor engagements. His background spans SSM regulatory practice and MIDA sectoral advisory, with particular experience in the technology and digital services sectors.
Nurul Rashidah
Corporate Secretarial Lead
Nurul manages the firm's company secretarial engagements and post-incorporation filings. She holds a MIA-recognised qualification and maintains working relationships with SSM and major commercial banks' account-opening teams.
Tan Wei Liang
Tax & Regulatory Advisor
Wei Liang advises on the tax positioning aspects of new entity structures, including withholding tax for foreign-owned entities and LHDN registration matters. He works closely with the firm's foreign investor clients on early-stage cross-border fee arrangements.
How We Work
Standards we hold across every engagement
Written Scope Before Work Begins
Every engagement starts with a written scope note that lists what is included, what falls outside the scope, and the agreed fee. No assumptions, no surprises.
Client-Held Records
All incorporation documents, constitutions, agreements and SSM filings are provided to the client in full. We maintain our own copy, but the client is always the primary holder.
Data Handling & Confidentiality
Client information is held on secured systems. Identification documents and financial details are handled under our confidentiality policy and are not shared with third parties without explicit written authorisation.
Explanation at Each Step
Before each filing or document execution, we explain what is being submitted, what it commits the company or its directors to, and what comes next. Clients do not sign things they do not understand.
Regulatory Currency
Malaysian company law, SSM procedures, and statutory registration requirements change periodically. We maintain current working knowledge across all areas we advise on, including the Companies Act 2016 and LLP Act 2012.
Named Practitioner Responsibility
Each engagement is assigned to a named member of the team who is personally responsible for delivery and is the client's direct point of contact from onboarding through to post-incorporation follow-up.
Our Expertise
Incorporation advisory in the Malaysian regulatory context
Business incorporation in Malaysia sits at the intersection of several regulatory bodies — SSM for company registration, LHDN for income tax file opening, EPF and SOCSO for statutory employment obligations, and various sectoral authorities for licensed activities. Navigating these bodies in sequence, and understanding which filings depend on which, is the core of our practice.
For new private limited companies, the Sdn Bhd structure under the Companies Act 2016 offers the most widely understood framework for investor participation, fundraising, and eventual exit planning. The act introduced a single-director, single-shareholder minimum — a change that opened the structure to a wider range of founders, including sole operators who want limited liability without a formal partnership.
For professional service firms — consultants, architects, accountants, and similar — the Limited Liability Partnership under the LLP Act 2012 offers a leaner structure that separates professional liability from personal exposure without the full administrative weight of a company. Mentari Partners advises on both pathways and helps clients compare them on tax efficiency, fundraising flexibility, and operational administration before a choice is made.
Foreign investors entering Malaysia often encounter a layered set of conditions: equity participation requirements that vary by sector, licensing processes managed by MIDA, MoHE, BNM, or other authorities depending on the activity, and withholding tax considerations when the Malaysian entity will transact with a related overseas entity. Our foreign investor engagements are structured to address each of these dimensions before the first filing is made, so the entity is set up with the right ownership structure from the outset.
Have a question about your structure?
We're happy to describe what each engagement covers before any commitment is made on either side.
Start the Conversation