KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 — Malaysia remains in 36th position out of 132 countries in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2023 Report, with its overall score improving to 40.9 from 38.7 last year.

The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) said Malaysia also moved up one spot to second behind China in the most innovative countries category comprising 36 upper-middle income countries while in Asean, Malaysia remained in second place behind Singapore.

"Malaysia has retained its top spot in two sub-indicators, namely High-tech exports and Creative goods exports and jumped to the top position in the Graduates in Science and Engineering sub-indicator.

"Overall, Malaysia has recorded improvements in five of the seven thrusts compared to 2022, namely institutions (29 compared to 34); Human capital and research (32 compared to 38); Market sophistications (18 compared to 26); Business sophistications (36 compared to 41) and Knowledge and technology outputs (37 compared to 39),” it said in a statement today.

Mosti said Malaysia's improved performance in the GII, issued by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland, was inspired by, among other things, the various initiatives implemented by the ministry's Inter-Agency GII Competitiveness Monitoring Committee through the Whole-of-Government approach involving all ministries and agencies.

To ensure Malaysia can break into the top 30 countries in GII by 2025 as targeted under the 12th Malaysia Plan Mid-Term Review, Mosti will implement several initiatives.

These include facilitating the registration of intellectual property (IP) for any innovations with potential for commercialisation, including those produced by school students; drafting the National Planet Health Action Plan; providing market information for the local startup ecosystem and formulating proposals on the establishment of the Special Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation Talent.

The statement said Mosti viewed Malaysia's performance in GII not merely as a gauge but also as a comprehensive guide on the country's innovation capabilities, focusing on key factors driving and supporting the innovation process, including research and development; entrepreneurship; technological infrastructure, and various fields which require intervention.

It said all the initiatives were in line with the determination of the Malaysia Madani Policy Framework to make Malaysia an innovative country and a technology producer by 2030. — Bernama