KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 28 — The government will implement a single window initiative to coordinate and reorganise functions, especially in relation to collaboration across agencies in the startup ecosystem as a guide in policy formulation and decision making, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

"Malaysia aims to be among the top 20 countries in the global startup ecosystem by 2030 and develop Kuala Lumpur as a regional startup and digital hub.

"Accordingly, the council has agreed on the implementation of initiatives to strengthen the ecosystem of startup companies and increase the involvement and performance of local startup companies,” he said in a statement after chairing the first meeting of the Council for Digital Economy and National 4th Industrial Revolution (MED4IRN) for 2023 today.

Anwar said the initiative set a target of creating 5,000 start-up companies by 2025.

To date, there are at least 14 agencies involved in the startup ecosystem covering aspects of financing, product development, marketing and expertise, he said.

The Prime Minister said the council also agreed to speed up the implementation of the National Digital Identity Development Project (IDN) under the National Registration Department.

IDN is a form of digital self-identification and verification by referring to a single authentic source based on the individual’s biometric characteristics.

He said the IDN, when completed later, will act as a reliable digital identity platform for the verification of individual information when obtaining services from service providers.

"The government will continue to enhance the public sector digitalisation programme to ensure sustainable digital progress and drive the country’s digital transformation agenda.

"The implementation of this IDN is one of the initiatives under the Public Sector Digital Transformation Core in Malaysia’s Digital Economy Blueprint, in line with the Madani Economy’s desire to elevate the country as an Asian economic leader and improve the wellbeing of the people,” he added.

MED4IRN is made up of ministers as chairmen of clusters and digital economy initiatives as well as appointed members consisting of representatives of the private sector, industry, academia, think tanks and civil society organisations who have been selected through open applications.

The council played a role in accelerating the implementation of initiatives related to the country’s digital transformation agenda. — Bernama