Calls for Stronger Media Collaboration to Bridge Domestic Investment Perception Gap KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 14 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) has hosted its first major engagement of the year, the Media Appreciation High-Tea & Networking Session, themed "Strengthening Partnerships for Investment Success." on 13 January 2026. Held at the Aloft Hotel, Kuala Lumpur Sentral, the event brought together close to 60 media representatives, including senior editors, bureau chiefs, and journalists from major news organisations, to align on Malaysia's investment narrative and priorities for 2026.The session served as a strategic curtain raiser for the year, featuring an address by MIDA Chairman, YM Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Abdul Aziz, and MIDA Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Datuk Sikh Shamsul Ibrahim Sikh Abdul Majid. Renowned economist Dr. Anthony Dass provided key economic context through his briefing on the 2026 investment outlook, highlighting increasingly capital selectivity and intensified regional competition in a year projected to see flat global capital flows of USD 1.5 trillion.
Reframing the Narrative: Mobilising Domestic Investment MIDA Chairman, YM Tengku Zafrul, emphasised that 2026 must be about the conversion of investment approvals into productive capacity and tangible benefits for Malaysian families. He highlighted that in the first nine months of 2025, 55% of approved investments were driven by domestic investors, yet a significant "perception gap" remains where many local SMEs are not fully aware of the range of facilities and support available across the Government, including those provided by MIDA.
"Approvals alone do not build industries. What matters is how those approvals translate into real projects, quality jobs and stronger local supply chains," stated YM Tengku Zafrul. "Supporting the SMEs, who form a large part of Malaysia’s middle class means expanding opportunity, and that begins by ensuring Malaysian businesses know how to access MIDA’s holistic support that they can benefit from.”
Strategic Priorities for 2026 To support this shift, MIDA outlined a suite of initiatives aimed at making investment facilitation more seamless, ecosystem-driven, and outcome-focused:
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Invest Malaysia Facilitation Centre (IMFC): Since its establishment in December 2023, IMFC has facilitated over 45,000 issues. In 2025 alone, over 27,000 issues were resolved—a 60% year-on-year increase—with 1,631 projects (81.9%) successfully implemented. The IMFC model will be expanded to Penang and Sarawak.
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New Incentive Framework (NIF): A transition from volume-based incentives to outcome-driven investments, with emphasis on technology upgrading, automation, decarbonisation, and workforce development. Implementation will be phased, beginning with the manufacturing sector in Q1 2026, followed by the services sector in Q2 2026.
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#InvestLokal Initiative: A communication campaign repositioning MIDA as a partner to domestic investors and the rakyat, featuring relatable stories of local business expansion, upgrading and success.
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Regional Flagship Programmes: MIDA is intensifying engagement with State Governments through targeted, ecosystem-based promotion across all regions—Northern, East Coast, Southern, Sabah, Sarawak, and Central—to connect companies with anchor investors and new market opportunities.
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Investment Coordination Platform (ICP): A facilitation platform helping Malaysian companies bridge financing gaps, raise capital, pursue mergers and acquisitions, and prepare for initial public offerings (IPOs). To date, MIDA's ICP has engaged more than 80 companies on a one-to-one basis.
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One-Stop Portal (OSP): MIDA is developing a One-Stop Portal to unify all government stakeholders on a single digital platform, enabling parallel approvals across federal and state agencies to address investor pain points.
A People-Centric Investment Narrative“The media are not just channels of communication; you are our partners in nationbuilding. As we strengthen our focus on domestic investment and investor facilitation in 2026, your role in shaping an informed and confident business community becomes even more critical,” said Datuk Sikh Shamsul Ibrahim, CEO of MIDA.
Invoking Malay wisdom—"Khabar angin membawa rebah, khabar benar membawa teguh" (Rumours bring collapse, truth brings strength)—YM Tengku Zafrul called on media to collaborate by asking "the domestic angle" when covering major foreign investments and highlighting Malaysian SME success stories alongside headline numbers.
By strengthening data access, sharing local success stories, and deepening engagement with newsrooms, MIDA aims to ensure that Malaysia’s investment narrative in 2026 is not only competitive and policy-driven, but also inclusive, relatable, and people-centric, reflecting the vital role of domestic capital mobilisation in shaping the nation’s economic future.
About MIDA MIDA is the government’s principal investment promotion and development agency under the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) to oversee and drive investments into the manufacturing and services sectors in Malaysia. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur Sentral, MIDA has 12 regional and 20 overseas offices. MIDA continues to be the strategic partner to businesses in seizing the opportunities arising from the technology revolution of this era. For more information, please visit www.mida.gov.my and follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok and YouTube channels.
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https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1LC9fBCpb1nBpBdRs5svoU7FMsU1zgdq1SOURCE: Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA)FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
MIDA
Name: Ms. Fatmah Ahmad
Director, Corporate Communications Division
Email: fatmah@mida.gov.my
Tel.: +603- 2263 2428
--BERNAMA