KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 — Malaysia must not let up on technological breakthroughs that made it 36th of 132 in the 2023 Global Innovation Index and behind only China in terms of upper-middle-income nations, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said Malaysia needed to keep all its momentum in the critically competitive technology industry, and instead use the achievement as inspiration for further success.
“Although we have made progress in various areas, we should not be satisfied and need to keep pushing forward. The Global Innovation Index ranks us 36th out of 132 countries, which is an improvement but still leaves room for growth. We need to use this chance to move further ahead.
“While the National Technology and Innovation Sandbox has seen successes, we must continue our efforts and not rest on our past achievements,” he said during his speech when officiating the Malaysia Commercialisation Year Summit 2024 here today.
He also said to enhance the country’s performance, Malaysia must pay close attention to the successes of neighbouring countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
He then went on to say that efforts must be made to prevent widening social gaps and ensure that all stakeholders are actively involved in the initiatives.
“The focus should be on creating effective strategies and understanding the whole innovation ecosystem to achieve better results.
“It is important to address social inequalities and make sure everyone is involved in these efforts,” he added.
