NICE 2026: Government, GLIC, Private Sector Need to Strengthen Synergy to Drive Innovation – PM Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR: Closer cooperation between the government, government-linked investment companies (GLIC) and the private sector needs to be strengthened to enhance the country’s research, innovation and creative capabilities.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the synergy between GLIC and private companies is important to ensure that the strengths of both parties can be optimally utilised.

“We have now reached the second stage, which is synergy with private companies, starting with GLIC. Government-owned companies cannot work in isolation because this cooperation will strengthen their capabilities,” he said.

He said many local private companies are now demonstrating high capabilities in various fields, including education, and in some instances, even surpassing the capabilities of certain agencies.

“Many Malaysian private companies are showing their capabilities in the field of education, sometimes exceeding the capabilities of certain agencies, and we need to leverage that strength,” he said.

In this regard, Anwar said private companies also need to place greater focus on research and creative fields to strengthen the country’s innovation ecosystem.

Meanwhile, he said Malaysia needs to intensify efforts in research and innovation in line with the emphasis in the 13th Malaysia Plan (RMK13), including ensuring that local innovation outcomes are successfully developed and brought to the international market.

According to him, Malaysia should not merely be a country that produces products, but rather needs to develop products based on local expertise and capabilities that can compete globally.

“We are not just ‘made in Malaysia’ but ‘made by Malaysia’, so we must strive to ensure that our outputs are produced more effectively,” he said.

Anwar said cooperative networks with Western and Eastern countries need to be strengthened to ensure Malaysia remains a competitive trading nation.

He also emphasised the need to develop high-technology industries that are not only capable of producing products, but also have the ability to export them to international markets.

“Malaysia remains a trading nation focused on industry, including growing in the high-technology industrial sector, but capable not only of producing but also of exporting,” he said.

Anwar said this when speaking at the launch of the National Innovation and Commercialisation Expo (NICE) on Thursday.

Astro Awani