KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 15 — All government authorities must issue project and business approvals as quickly as possible to ensure the country does not lose its competitive advantage to bureaucracy, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

In a statement after chairing a National Physical Planning Council (MPFN) today, he said that while Malaysia was currently in global investors’ eyes and the economy growing, this should not be taken for granted.

"Therefore, all parties involved, including the federal government, state governments, and local authorities, must increase the speed of granting approvals without compromising existing regulations to make Malaysia a focal point for investors in this region,” he said.

Anwar said the council also discussed the issue of rare earth elements mining in Malaysia, including how to balance with with environmental sustainability.

On Monday, Anwar said Kuala Lumpur was ranked among the top 30 emerging ecosystems in the Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) 2024.

Malaysia was also 36th of 132 in the 2023 Global Innovation Index and behind only China in terms of upper-middle-income nations.