Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia’s improved standing in the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) World Competitiveness Ranking (WCR) 2025 is underpinned by a strong institutional reform framework driven by the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar said among the key initiatives is the Special Task Force on Agency Reform (STAR), which he chaired this morning, attended by all secretaries-general and heads of services.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, during a meeting at the IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland last year, Shamsul Azri explained how Malaysia’s public service is implementing service delivery reforms swiftly and decisively. He highlighted that the STAR team, at the operational level, has successfully coordinated over 1,000 bureaucratic red tape reform (RKB) projects nationwide.

He further noted that the Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) now uses artificial intelligence (AI) to approve building plans within a day, down from the previous 14 days. In Kedah, land development applications that used to take over a year can now be resolved within three months through the Land Approval Guarantee Management Initiative (iUJKT) platform. Additionally, at the Works Ministry, the approval time for building materials has been shortened from 30 days to 14 days, with many other red tape reduction projects actively underway.

Shamsul Azri expressed confidence that with the strong commitment of all parties involved, Malaysia will continue to excel in global competitiveness rankings in the years to come. The latest WCR 2025 report shows Malaysia rising 11 places from 34th in 2024 to 23rd position, marking the country’s best performance since 2020.

The WCR is published annually by the Switzerland-based IMD and is a comprehensive report that assesses an economy’s ability to generate and sustain a business-friendly environment conducive to long-term prosperity.