KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 (Bernama) -- Outdated bureaucratic practices that hinder the speed of commercialisation and delay the establishment of faculties focused on new technologies must be eliminated to ensure the country does not fall behind in the global wave of innovation, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said that the world of innovation and commercialisation demands speed and flexibility; therefore, related processes can no longer be bound by traditional approval methods that take too long.
As an example, the Prime Minister said the establishment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) faculties at several local universities had been successfully realised within three months, compared with the usual procedure which could take up to a year.
“How can we follow the old bureaucracy? It is not possible... If we follow the old approach, establishing a faculty takes a year through various senate and council meetings. That is why I urge my colleagues at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and the relevant ministries to accept the fact that we need to achieve a level of speed and efficiency in this post-normal world,” he said.
He said this when officiating the National Innovation and Commercialisation Expo (NICE) 2026 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) here today.
Also present were Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Datuk Chang Lih Kang, Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Steven Sim Chee Keong and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak) Datuk Mustapha Sakmud.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister said the government would increase funding allocations for research activities through the tabling of Budget 2027 in early October to support the country’s innovation ecosystem.
However, he reminded fund recipients and government agencies to always exercise prudence in spending, given the country’s limited financial resources, which are largely derived from tax revenue.
“Funding for research will certainly be increased, but there is a limit to the additional allocation because we cannot incur excessive debt... So, we have to be more prudent in our spending,” he said.
To balance the fiscal constraints, the Prime Minister called for stronger strategic synergy between government research agencies, universities, Government-Linked Investment Companies (GLICs) and the private sector to ensure that every allocation is utilised optimally.
He also stressed that the country’s research output should uphold the ‘Made in Malaysia’ principle for the global market, while striking a balance between advances in modern technology and human values.
-- BERNAMA