Malaysia: Innovation Nation. Building the ecosystem
“Malaysia needs a new approach, a new enthusiasm and a new determination driven by the 1Malaysia spirit, to propel Malaysia into the next level of high growth” Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak
Insights
Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak
Prime Minister of Malaysia
“The Tenth Malaysian Plan sets another historical milestone as our nation embarks on an important mission towards a progressive and high-income nation, as envisioned in Vision 2020. We have achieved great strides in economic and social development in the past 53 years of nation building, but today we face a different dimension of new challenges. We can no longer rely on past strategies and approaches that had previously driven our economic growth. Malaysia needs a new approach, a new enthusiasm and a new determination driven by the 1Malaysia spirit, to propel Malaysia into the next level of high growth.
For Malaysia to be a high-income nation, we must be able to compete on a regional and global stage. This requires redoubling our effort to attract investment, drive productivity and innovation. The foundation of any productive high-income economy lies in a globally competitive, creative and innovative workforce. To achieve this, an integrated approach to nurturing, attracting and retaining first-world talent base will be implemented.
The creativity, energy and initiative of the private sector will be harnessed as the primary driver of Malaysia’s growth aspirations. We will remove structural barriers and outdated regulations in order to create an efficient and flexible business environment for the private sector.”
Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr Lim Kok Wing
Founder & President of Limkokwing University
“We must develop a culture that celebrates creativity and promotes innovative thinking. Rules and regulations that do not promote innovation should be dropped. If we keep doing the same thing over long periods of time, we will be, as a country, out of step, out of sync, out of touch and out of the loop with what’s happening around us.
In business, to be sure, innovation must be industry-led and driven. This is because industry knows what the market wants and how to drive the market to open up new avenues.
But to be certain, the process of innovative development must also involve the approval systems. Government agencies should work hand-in-hand with the private sector to enable industry to operate at its competitive best.
Everyone involved must understand the competitive nature of today’s environment, and the speed at which the private sector must move in order to remain in competition.
Everyone should know that if our private sector loses an external battle, it is the country that loses the battle. We must now focus on creating a more vibrant and productive innovation system that will pull together all our resources, our talent pool, our cultural diversity and creativity.”