Closer collaboration needed to enable research commercialization: Malaysian deputy PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- Closer collaboration among the government, universities, industry and private investors is needed to bridge the missing middle in research commercialization and turn promising local technologies into global enterprises, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said here on Tuesday.

While Malaysia has built a strong base in global supply chains, many locally developed technologies face challenges in securing industry partners or capital between research validation and commercialization, Ahmad Zahid said in his speech at the University Research and Innovation Investment Summit 2026 (URIIS 2026).

"The problem is not always the quality of the research. More often, it is the lack of the right partner, capital or pathway to scale. This is where government, universities, industry and investors must work more closely together," he said.

Ahmad Zahid said Malaysia must shift from heavy reliance on public grants to a broader capital ecosystem that involves private investors and industry partners to scale promising ideas into marketable products.

He also called for research to focus more on national challenges such as food security, healthcare, energy and productivity.