By Santhia Panjanadan
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today said Malaysia’s six per cent growth was very good but stressed that it should not be taken to mean that the country had higher revenue and could spend more.
He said high growth in artificial intelligence (AI), data centres and the digital sector did not provide income to the country, but instead created opportunities in development, employment, capability building and technology.
It has opened up many opportunities but the returns are not balanced yet, he said when officiating the National Innovation and Commercialisation Expo (NICE) 2026 here today.
Anwar said this was different from opening factories or agricultural production, where the output would provide returns to the country.
He said there had been questions on whether recording six per cent growth meant the country should have higher revenue and could spend more.
Anwar said the country’s limitations needed to be understood from the macroeconomic perspective, noting that scientists tended to focus on science rather than macroeconomics.
“They don’t understand our limitations,” he said.
He stressed that this did not mean funding for education and research should be reduced.
Instead, Anwar called for all players to fully utilise its capacity and further strengthen synergy between research centres, universities, government-linked companies (GLCs) and the private sector to ensure more effective disbursement.
He said cooperation among government bodies, universities, GLCs and private companies should be strengthened to make better use of what was available and ensure greater efficiency and speed.
–WE