KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 — Malaysia made significant gains in some areas of the International Institute for Management Development’s (IMD) 2024 World Competitiveness Ranking (WCR) despite losing seven places, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar also said his administration’s subsidy rationalisation drive now directly addressed the country’s shortcomings as listed in the WCR.

“The 2023 report was based on the information from 2022 and it cannot be denied that there has indeed been an improvement for the quarter of the year 2024 compared to 2023.

“Among the criticisms is our failure to implement those subsidies. However, most of the problems have been resolved. The second issue is the weakness of the ringgit.

“Last year, the challenging issue of the ringgit was acknowledged, but this year’s highest quarter has already shown improvement,” he told reporters after inaugurating the launch of Asia ESG Positive Impact Consortium here today.

Anwar went on to say that the government has thoroughly examined the issues highlighted and would work on these weaknesses.

The prime minister added that the government was not shying away from the issue, and that he has instructed that remedial steps be taken urgently.

Malaysia dropped to 34th place out of 67 countries in the 2024 WCR, falling seven spots from its 27th position last year.

According to the report, Malaysia’s decline across various categories, including economic performance, government efficiency, and business efficiency.

Malaysia was ranked fourth among Asean countries, trailing behind Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Singapore claimed the top spot as the world’s most competitive economy, rising four places from the previous year to surpass Switzerland, which now holds second place.

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/06/21/pm-anwar-sees-silver-lining-in-malaysias-slide-down-global-competitiveness-ladder/140831