MALAYSIAN INNOVATION INDEX EXPECTED TO BE LAUNCHED IN NOVEMBER

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Innovation Index (MII), developed by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) as a platform to strengthen the country’s innovation ecosystem, is expected to be launched next month, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Deputy Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Mohammad Yusof Apdal said the implementation of the MII would enable the government to assess the innovation ecosystem profile of each state to identify strengths and areas for improvement.

“MOSTI will continue engagement sessions with state governments to explain their respective innovation ecosystem profiles, which form the foundation of the MII.

“This initiative will in turn allow state governments and MOSTI to identify suitable interventions and assist in the implementation process for each intervention,” he said during the question-and-answer session.

He was responding to a question from S. Kesavan (PH-Sungai Siput), who asked for clarification on efforts to improve the nation’s innovation ranking and the status of MII implementation.

Mohammad Yusof said the MII would continue to serve as a benchmarking mechanism to compare innovation ecosystems across states, assess the effectiveness of policies and attract new investments.

He said the MII report would be published biennially to evaluate changes and progress in the innovation ecosystem of each state.

In reply to a supplementary question from Azahari Hasan (PN-Padang Rengas) on the key metrics and indicators used in the MII to measure innovation performance at the state and agency levels, Mohammad Yusof said the metrics were assessed through two main dimensions — innovation enablers and agency participation.

“The key metrics of MII 2025 measure the level of innovation through two dimensions. The first is the input sub-index, which evaluates innovation enablers such as human capital and research readiness through the strength of the education system as well as research and development (R&D) activities.

“The second is the sophistication of assessment, which measures private sector participation in R&D and financing, while the output sub-index evaluates the outcomes of these investments, including knowledge and technology performance based on patent applications, publications and productivity,” he said.

He added that the MII assessment framework was developed as a complement to the Global Innovation Index (GII), and through its implementation, the government aims to improve Malaysia’s position in the GII, targeting to be among the world’s top 20 countries.

-- BERNAMA