
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Malaysia is no longer in a comfortable position with the likes of Singapore and Vietnam competing with the country. (Bernama pic)
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said there is no room for complacency despite the country securing foreign investments worth billions of ringgit.
Anwar revealed that at the previous Cabinet meeting, he said there was a need to compare the country with its neighbours in terms of development.
“Yes, we have made improvements. But are we comparable to the likes of Singapore and Vietnam who are competing with us? We are no longer in a comfortable position,” he said at the Industry Excellence Awards Night 2024 here this evening.
Also present was investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz.
On Friday, Tengku Zafrul revealed that TikTok owner ByteDance plans to invest about RM10 billion on artificial intelligence and turn Malaysia into a regional AI hub.
In May, it was reported that tech giant Google will invest RM9.4 billion to establish its first data centre and Google Cloud region in Malaysia, and in April, Microsoft Corp’s CEO Satya Nadella announced the company’s plan to invest RM10.5 billion in cloud and AI infrastructure in Malaysia over the next four years.
Anwar said that despite these announcements, it did not mean “we need to be content”.
“But when will these (projects) be realised? Will we be faster than Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam or lag behind them?” he said.
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