Govt, universities, industry must bridge 'missing middle' in research commercialisation – Zahid

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia must improve coordination between the government, universities, industry, and private investors to bridge the "missing middle" in research commercialisation, transforming promising local technologies into global enterprises, according to Deputy Prime Minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. While Malaysia boasts a strong foundation in global supply chains, many locally developed technologies struggle to secure industry partners or funding between research validation and commercialisation.

This issue stems not from low-quality research, but rather from the absence of appropriate partners, capital, and pathways to scale. During the launch of the University Research and Innovation Investment Summit 2026 (URIIS 2026) at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur, Zahid emphasized the need to shift away from relying solely on public grants towards a more diverse capital ecosystem involving private investors and industry partners.

He also advocated for research to concentrate on addressing national challenges such as food security, healthcare, energy, and productivity. Zahid highlighted rural communities, including his Bagan Datuk constituency, as potential testing grounds for innovations in areas like digital healthcare, renewable energy, and smart logistics.

According to the Global Innovation Index 2025, Malaysia ranks 34th among 139 economies in terms of innovation outputs, but excels in innovation inputs. To move forward, Malaysia must transition from developing talent to creating home-grown technology enterprises, aligning with the national goal of attracting RM500 billion in investments and cultivating 60,000 skilled engineers by 2030.

Zahid called on the higher education ministry, other ministries, universities, industry partners, and investors to implement the technologies emerging from URIIS 2026, stating that Malaysia's national ambition for 2030 is "Create, Commercialise, Own."