Anwar revealed that at the previous Cabinet meeting, he said there was a need to compare the country with its neighbours in terms of development.

“Yes, we have made improvements. But are we comparable to the likes of Singapore and Vietnam who are competing with us? We are no longer in a comfortable position,” he said at the Industry Excellence Awards Night 2024 here this evening.

Also present was investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz.

On Friday, Tengku Zafrul revealed that TikTok owner ByteDance plans to invest about RM10 billion on artificial intelligence and turn Malaysia into a regional artificial intelligence (AI) hub.

In May, it was reported that tech giant Google will invest RM9.4 billion to establish its first data centre and Google Cloud region in Malaysia, and in April, Microsoft Corp’s CEO Satya Nadella announced the company’s plan to invest RM10.5 billion in cloud and AI infrastructure in Malaysia over the next four years.

Anwar said that despite these announcements, it did not mean “we need to be content”.

“But when will these (projects) be realised? Will we be faster than Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam or lag behind them?” he said.

Anwar, who is also the finance minister, said for the country to remain competitive and effectively capitalise on foreign investments, government agencies and industry players must be open to change and do things differently.

He said it is left to ministries and government agencies to simplify any process to accommodate the incoming investments.

Anwar pointed to the lack of preparedness to attract talents with expertise in AI, citing the absence of AI faculties in local universities.

“So, our education system must quickly adapt to the situation with a different approach or risk falling behind,” he said.

He said only a few tertiary institutions were adapting well to the evolving demands of various industries.