Government-linked investment companies have sharply escalated their domestic spending under the Government-Linked Enterprises Activation and Reform Programme (GEAR-uP), committing RM20.3 billion in 2025 compared to just RM6.6 billion the previous year. The threefold jump represents a significant acceleration in capital deployment designed to strengthen Malaysia's economic foundations while distributing prosperity more broadly across the population. The initiative, now in its third operational year, continues to unfold with momentum extending into early 2026, signalling sustained commitment from the institutions managing the country's sovereign wealth.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, addressing the release of the GEAR-uP Progress Report, framed the programme as fundamentally different from conventional investment approaches. Rather than pursuing passive financial returns, he emphasised that national capital is now being channelled toward purposeful economic transformation. His remarks underscored that Malaysia is deliberately harnessing its accumulated wealth to address structural challenges and create genuine opportunities for ordinary citizens, a strategic reorientation that reflects broader priorities within the current administration's economic philosophy.
Launched in 2024 under the Ministry of Finance's stewardship, GEAR-uP represents an ambitious five-year commitment to deploy RM120 billion across the economy. The programme harnesses six major institutional investors: Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the Employees Provident Fund, Permodalan Nasional Bhd, Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan), Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera, and Lembaga Tabung Haji. By pooling these entities' resources and aligning their investment strategies toward national objectives, the framework aims to catalyse transformation while maintaining market discipline and returns.
Infrastructure development features prominently in GEAR-uP's execution pipeline. Google's Selangor data centre project, backed by KWAP, represents a significant technology infrastructure initiative poised to add 320 megawatts of capacity and generate 26,500 employment opportunities through 2027. This investment exemplifies how strategic capital deployment can attract multinational technological investment while building local capabilities. Alongside this, Empyrion Digital's phased expansion in Johor demonstrates diversified geographic distribution of major initiatives, ensuring that economic gains extend beyond the Klang Valley region.
The programme extends equally to nurturing Malaysia's private sector ecosystem. Multiple venture and growth-stage funding mechanisms—including Dana Impak, Dana Perintis, Dana Pemacu, and Ekuinas—are systematically advancing companies along the development continuum toward scale. Khazanah's forthcoming Dana Ciptawan initiative will inject a further RM200 million specifically targeting Bumiputera enterprises and mid-tier Malaysian firms, addressing a persistent gap in financing availability for entrepreneurs outside Malaysia's largest corporations. This targeted approach acknowledges that sustainable economic transformation requires strengthening the entire corporate ecosystem rather than concentrating capital among already-dominant players.
Capital markets development underpins Malaysia's longer-term competitive positioning. Government-linked companies are collectively targeting RM100 billion in additional market value creation by 2028, whilst the expansion of the MY Value Up discipline to 88 of Malaysia's largest listed companies aims to embed more sophisticated governance and value-creation practices throughout the listed sector. These initiatives directly support the Capital Market Masterplan's objective of reaching RM5.8 trillion to RM6.3 trillion in market capitalisation by 2030—a target that Malaysia must achieve to maintain competitiveness within Southeast Asia's increasingly sophisticated capital ecosystem and retain its status as a regional financial centre.
Energy infrastructure constitutes another pillar of GEAR-uP deployment. Tenaga Nasional Bhd's continuing grid modernisation programme, advancing from RM12 billion in 2025 toward RM15 billion by 2027, directly supports Malaysia's renewable energy transition objectives. With the nation targeting 70 per cent renewable capacity in its installed generation mix by 2050, this sustained investment provides the physical foundation for a lower-carbon energy system while creating sustained employment in technical and construction sectors. Similarly, Malaysia Airports' RM11 billion five-year upgrade programme, positioning Kuala Lumpur International Airport for over 100 million annual passengers, recognises aviation's critical role in global connectivity and tourism competitiveness.
Bumiputera enterprise development represents a distinct strategic focus within GEAR-uP. The programme targets ten Bumiputera company listings between 2026 and 2027, complemented by a dedicated Champions Programme designed to scale these firms toward sustainable competitive advantage. Zakat Wakalah initiatives, projected to reach RM100 million in 2026 from RM28 million previously, leverage Islamic finance mechanisms to broaden wealth participation among Muslim citizens and communities. These elements reflect deliberate policy choices to ensure Malaysia's economic gains are distributed across demographic and ethnic constituencies rather than concentrating among established business elites.
Minister of Finance II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan articulated a nuanced perspective on capital's role in economic development, arguing that investment becomes truly productive only when deployed capital translates into quality employment, fair wages, and capability building among Malaysian workers. His framing emphasises that GEAR-uP's success cannot be measured in ringgit terms alone; rather, the programme succeeds when it generates living wages, places graduates in meaningful positions, scales Bumiputera enterprises, and anchors sophisticated supply chains domestically. This philosophy resists the temptation to reduce economic development to headline metrics, instead emphasising inclusive prosperity and human welfare.
The portfolio of companies supported through GEAR-uP institutions delivered an aggregate 8.0 per cent total shareholder return in 2025, demonstrating that purposeful capital deployment need not sacrifice financial discipline or investment returns. This performance validates the underlying premise that commercial returns and strategic objectives can be pursued simultaneously. The sustained returns provide reinvestment capacity, enabling GLICs and government-linked companies to maintain deployment momentum through subsequent years without requiring supplementary government funding, creating a self-sustaining cycle of capital generation and redeployment.
Context of global economic uncertainty frames the urgency of GEAR-uP's mission. As international trade patterns reshape and geopolitical tensions create volatility, Malaysia's ability to maintain steady internal capital formation and strategic investment becomes strategically valuable. Earlier economic reforms undertaken in 2023 reportedly provided resilience that enabled Malaysia to navigate recent external turbulence more successfully than some regional peers. GEAR-uP essentially represents the next phase of this reform trajectory, embedding strategic capital deployment capacity within Malaysia's economic institutions to sustain prosperity even as external conditions fluctuate unpredictably.
The Ministry of Finance's characterisation of GEAR-uP emphasises the transition from merely attracting external investment capital toward converting that capital into durable domestic capabilities. The distinction matters enormously for Malaysia's long-term trajectory; nations that capture and retain value through indigenous firms, skilled workforces, and domestic supply chains achieve greater resilience and prosperity than those serving merely as investment destinations for foreign capital that subsequently departs. By anchoring major infrastructure projects, technology facilities, and enterprise development within local ownership structures and governance, Malaysia seeks to ensure that economic growth translates into sustained prosperity rather than ephemeral gains that dissipate when external capital flows shift.
Looking forward, the next three years carry particular significance as most GEAR-uP initiatives are already operationally underway with measurable progress visible. Data centre capacity expansions will materialise, airport infrastructure enhancements will facilitate increased passenger throughput, and Bumiputera enterprises will progressively move toward public market listings. These developments will provide concrete evidence of whether Malaysia can effectively translate capital mobilisation into real economic transformation. The success of GEAR-uP will shape investor confidence in Malaysia's capacity for economic leadership throughout the remainder of this decade.
