Government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil said Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz would explain the country's seven spots fall in the 2024 International Institute for Management Development (IMD) World Competitiveness Ranking.
“I think this one will be answered by the minister (Zafrul). He did mention about answering this.
“Give some time to the investment, trade and industry minister’s team to study what was meant (by the ranking) and what happened.
“Because in reality, we have seen a huge increase in investment this year, especially from the semiconductor sector, data centres and AI.
“I’ll leave it to the ministry for a more perfect explanation,” Fahmi (above) told reporters at the EQ Hotel in Kuala Lumpur today.
He said this after attending the launch of MCMC Microsoft AI Teach: Skills for AI-enabled economy and the memorandum of understanding exchange ceremony between MCMC and Microsoft Malaysia at the hotel.
Malaysia dropped to the 34th spot this year from the 27th position last year in this year’s IMD ranking, which is a comprehensive annual report and worldwide reference point on the competitiveness of countries.
Yesterday, Perikatan Nasional chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin slammed Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim over the matter, saying Malaysia’s poor performance is a great blow and should serve as a clarion call for the premier to quit being a “master spinner”.
For the first time, Malaysia ranks lower than Indonesia and Thailand in the index.
Bernama reported Zafrul as saying that his ministry has received the report and would provide a detailed explanation after reviewing the matter to understand the various issues related to global trade.
“I will discuss it with the team and all relevant parties, and I will provide a detailed explanation on the matter this evening," Zafrul told reporters after the announcement of Malaysia's participation in the World Expo 2025 in Yumeshima island, Osaka, Japan.
More great news soon
Fahmi pointed out in his speech that it’s not sufficient to only speak about the numerous large-scale investments that come into the country.
Therefore, he called on the people to partake and play a role in translating “all the amazing and good news” to ensure that the investments reach the people and bring benefit to them.
“Of course, the influx of investments reflects the investors’ confidence that Malaysia is a stable enough country with high potential and a very bright future.
“God willing, there will be a lot more great news soon.
“It’s not my place to speak about investments. But we see this, week in and week out, Malaysia continues to be a very preferred destination for a lot of investments including in AI, semiconductors and several other industries,” he said.
Previously, Anwar said the Microsoft investment amounting to RM10.5 billion (US$2.2 billion) in the country over the next four years is the largest single investment by the company in its 32 years in Malaysia.
Anwar said Microsoft’s hefty investment demonstrates its confidence in the country's strong economic foundation, clear and focused policies, investor-friendly environment, and political stability.
The investment includes the development of cloud systems and infrastructure and AI, creating AI skills opportunities for an additional 300,000 people, establishing a National AI Excellence Centre, enhancing the country's cybersecurity capabilities, and supporting the growth of the system developer community in Malaysia. - Mkini
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