Malaysian innovation funding recipients fail to meet expectations

Research projects with commercial potential funded by the Malaysian government appear to be struggling to meet assessment standards, raising concerns about the differing expectations of academics and policymakers. 

The majority of Malaysian government-funded fundamental research projects in progress at the end of 2023 failed to reach satisfactory standards, the country’s auditor general has found. 

As of 31 December 2023, a total of 2,077 projects worth 285 million ringgit (£50 million) were under way at the country’s five public research-intensive universities, funded by the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme. This government initiative aims to boost innovation, with grants prioritised for projects that show commercialisation potential.  

However, according to the auditor general’s report, only 28 per cent of these (571 projects) were judged to be performing at “satisfactory” status, as per the key performance indicators set by the government.

The remaining 1,119 projects (54 per cent) were “less than satisfactory” and 151 projects (7 per cent) were at “‘problematic” level. 

Projects are assessed against factors including publishing articles in indexed journals, employing graduate research assistants and successfully developing patents and prototypes. 

The new figures highlight wider concerns about the research culture in Malaysia. While the country is increasingly investing in research and development – the government increased funding to 600 million ringgit from 510 million ringgit (up 18 per cent) in the 2025 budget – there are questions about the quality of research taking place at universities. 

According to a 2020 report from the World Bank, “large emphasis is being placed on the enhancement of the quantity of R&D and innovation but not necessarily to the quality of R&D and its links with industry”.

Morshidi Sirat, director of the National Higher Education Research Institute at Universiti Sains Malaysia, said the problems could be attributed to the different expectations of researchers and policymakers. 

“Academics [and] researchers considered their research successful once papers submitted to reputable journals are accepted for publications,” he said. 

“But the ministry and government expect more than just journal publications, especially for research that is submitted with promises of potential for innovation and commercialisation. This is a familiar predicament for a majority of universities in South-east Asia.”

Of the five universities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia had the most “satisfactory” projects, with 30 per cent (200) at this level, as well as the highest number of “unsatisfactory” ones, with 51 per cent (339). 

According to the auditor general, universities reported issues including the cost of publishing in indexed journals, difficulty recruiting graduate research assistants because of low salaries, and intellectual property filings happening outside the allocated project period because of the lengthiness of the process. 

The audit report recommends that, in response to the findings, Malaysia’s finance and education ministries should monitor research projects more closely and examine the feasibility of applications to prevent projects being abandoned or terminated.

The Ministry of Education should also create a clear policy for what happens to any remaining funds after research projects are completed to ensure they can be fully utilised by research universities, the report says.

The government’s “objective to boost research excellence in Malaysia for the generation of new theories, concepts and ideas, with the potential to be translated into translational research…has not yet been achieved”, the auditor writes. 

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com