Yeah, you would think they expected to be grilled on numbers and came prepped. The article says it has attracted more than 35,000 applicants. That does not mean approvals, some of those applicants are rejected. Still 35K applications is lower than expected.
Malaysia is the most difficult place to get approval. Much easier to get approved within 3 weeks in Vietnam, Indonesia, Manilla. Cambodia and Laos are good but can take 4-6 weeks