Last updated on October 12, 2025
In a workshop at Universiti Sains Malaysia, a group of engineers are testing a portable dialysis machine. Not far away, another team is perfecting a prototype for an eco-friendly knee therapy device. Both products are local inventions, born from the country’s public universities. For years, such innovations rarely left the lab. Now, under Budget 2026, Malaysia is determined to bring them to the world.
This new phase of national growth is not built on extraction or assembly but on creation. The government calls it Ciptaan Malaysia, a movement that aims to take what Malaysians design and make it proudly marketable under the label Made by Malaysia.
From Research to Market
Malaysia’s universities have produced nearly 450 spin-off companies, yet only around five percent have successfully commercialised their research. The 2026 Budget seeks to change that pattern through a clear bridge between academic innovation and industry readiness.
A new National Spin-off Fund worth RM10 million will support university researchers who are ready to convert intellectual property into viable businesses. Up to 50 lecturers will be allowed to take research or sabbatical leave for one year to focus on turning their projects into commercial ventures. This initiative is expected to attract RM30 million in private co-investments and create a threefold multiplier effect.
To further encourage innovation, the government is providing RM12 million for selected university hospitals to apply their research in patient care. Among them, Universiti Sains Malaysia is developing the portable dialysis machine, while Universiti Malaya is advancing fertility treatment and biological therapy for osteoarthritis.
Each project carries a dual meaning, it improves life and builds confidence that Malaysian science can lead its own path.
Making Innovation Visible
Visibility is often the missing link between research and recognition. To close this gap, the Putrajaya Festival of Ideas will debut next year as a national showcase where universities, start-ups, and industries demonstrate their products and prototypes directly to the public.
This festival is part of a wider plan to make innovation a civic culture. The government wants Malaysians to see invention not as a luxury of the elite but as an extension of everyday creativity.
The same spirit extends to the MySTI programme, which certifies products and services developed through local research. More than 550 products have already received approval. The government will now give procurement priority to MySTI-certified items, ensuring that locally made technologies are tested, validated, and used across ministries.
Green Industry, Local Pride
Industrial pride is also linked to environmental responsibility. The budget introduces a 100 percent Green Investment Tax Allowance for companies that use locally manufactured green technologies certified by MyHIJAU. This encourages businesses to choose Malaysian-made equipment for renewable energy and sustainability projects.
By combining innovation with climate responsibility, Malaysia positions its industries at the intersection of progress and purpose. It sends a message to investors and citizens alike that national pride can be compatible with global responsibility.
Buying What We Build
The movement to strengthen domestic innovation would mean little without public participation. For that reason, the Buy Malaysian Goods Campaign receives a fresh injection of RM20 million.
The initiative promotes local brands both in domestic and international markets, helping small and medium enterprises gain visibility. It transforms consumer behaviour into a statement of solidarity. When citizens choose local products, they are not only supporting jobs but reinforcing a collective identity.
As the Prime Minister said, “We must ensure that the fruits of our research and innovation do not remain in laboratories but are truly brought to market.”
The Birth of a National Identity in Industry
There is a quiet optimism in the idea of Made by Malaysia. It signals that national achievement no longer depends solely on foreign investment or imported expertise. It grows from self-belief, built by engineers, researchers, and entrepreneurs who see creation as a civic duty.
Budget 2026 gives that optimism structure. It funds the institutions, grants the freedom, and builds the market pathways for Malaysian ideas to flourish. It also connects this ambition with values. As Anwar Ibrahim reminded the country, true progress lies in “the courage and integrity to fulfil one’s duty to the homeland.”
In that sense, the Made by Malaysia movement is more than economic planning. It is cultural renewal, a return to the belief that what Malaysians make with their own hands and minds can stand proudly anywhere in the world.
A Nation That Creates
From semiconductors to renewable energy, from university labs to rural cooperatives, Budget 2026 weaves one consistent message — Malaysia is ready to create.
It is a continuation of a story told through discipline, innovation, fairness, and faith. Over six days, this series has followed the threads of that story. It ends here, with a simple but powerful idea: a nation’s pride begins not when it consumes more, but when it builds what others want to learn from.
The next chapter of Malaysia’s growth will not be stamped Made in Malaysia. It will be signed with greater confidence — Made by Malaysia.
