KUCHING: Malaysia’s government efficiency ranking improved by 11 places to 14th in the 2026 IMD World Competitiveness Ranking, reflecting progress made through ongoing public service reforms.
Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia, Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar, said Malaysia also climbed eight places in the overall ranking to 15th among 70 economies, compared with 23rd the previous year.
He also said the improvement placed Malaysia as the second most competitive country in ASEAN after Singapore.
“Malaysia’s position in terms of government efficiency also rose by 11 places to 14th, while business efficiency recorded a significant increase of 16 places to 16th,” he said.
He said this in his address during the Sarawak Integrity Day 2026 celebration at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here today.
Shamsul Azri said Malaysia was also ranked sixth globally in the bureaucracy indicator, demonstrating the impact of reforms undertaken to improve public administration and service delivery.
Among the initiatives was the Bureaucratic Reform (RKB) programme implemented under the Public Service Reform Agenda and overseen by the Special Task Force on Agency Reform (STAR).
He said 447 RKB projects had been completed nationwide, generating an estimated RM2.95 billion in compliance cost savings.
“The government is working towards completing 500 RKB projects. The aggressive efforts undertaken through the Public Service Reform Agenda, particularly the Bureaucratic Reform initiatives under STAR, have begun to produce results,” he said.
Shamsul Azri said the country’s progress was also reflected in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, where Malaysia’s score improved to 52 out of 100.
He said Malaysia was ranked 54th among 182 countries, compared with 57th previously.
“These achievements demonstrated that integrity, transparency and good governance were closely linked to national competitiveness and investor confidence,” he said.
However, Shamsul Azri stressed that integrity should not be viewed merely as compliance with rules or the absence of corruption.
Instead, it required consistency between the values individuals upheld, the decisions they made and the actions they carried out, including doing what was right even when no one was watching.
“The challenge is not only to develop organisations that complied with regulations, but also to establish institutions that earned public trust,” he added.
