Malaysia To Set Up Task Force To Improve Ranking In World Competitiveness Yearbook

KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 (Bernama) -- Malaysia will establish a task force, comprising representatives from the public and private sector, to improve its ranking in the World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY), said the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). Malaysia is ranked at 24th position in the latest WCY 2017, compiled by The Institute for Management Development (IMD), World Competitiveness Centre based in Lausanne, Switzerland. Despite the decline from 19th position last year, it remains in the top 25 most competitive nations among 63 economies including Hong Kong, Switzerland, Singapore, the US and Netherlands. MITI Minister, Mustapa Mohamed said besides the task force, the ministry had also begun undertaking the necessary steps to improve Malaysia’s performance through the Malaysia Productivity Blueprint’s (MPB) five thrusts. The five key thrusts are building high-skilled workforce for the future, driving digitalisation and innovation to companies across sectors, making industry accountable for productivity, forging a robust ecosystem to ensure effective implementation of regulations and securing a strong implementation mechanism through effective governance. “The IMD World Competitiveness Centre has also published a separate Digital Competitiveness Ranking for the first time. “Malaysia ranks at 24th position in this ranking where the top five positions were occupied by Singapore, Sweden, the US, Finland and Denmark. “This separate ranking measures countries’ ability to adopt and explore digital technologies leading to transformation in government practices, business models and society in general,” he said in a statement on Wednesday. Mustapa noted that in the digital competitiveness area, Malaysia remained committed to driving digitalisation and innovation through appropriate technological infrastructure, e-commerce and technology adoption across the economic sectors. The Digital Free Trade Zone, once completed, would position Malaysia among the leading countries in the global e-commerce market and the country needed to sustain this momentum and forge ahead, he said. Looking ahead, he urged all parties to work harder in improving Malaysia’s position in the WCY next year, despite having a good momentum so far this year. More efforts should be targeted and intensified to improve investment environment and promoting policies that would increase trade, reduce regulatory burden and strengthen the country’s technological capabilities, he said. “We have scored a number of successes through the Economic Transformation Programme and Government Transformation Programme implemented since 2010. “For example, the setting up of the Rural and Urban Transformation Centres offering integrated initiatives in a number of cities across the country speak volumes of our commitment to deliver more efficient government services,” he said. -- BERNAMA