Malaysia’s Government-Linked Enterprises Activation and Reform Programme — better known as GEAR-uP — has reached a significant milestone in domestic investment deployment, with government-linked investment companies (GLICs) channelling RM20.3 billion into the Malaysian economy in 2025. That figure is roughly three times the RM6.6 billion allocated in 2024, signalling accelerating momentum as the programme enters its third year under the stewardship of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the Ministry of Finance (MoF).
For ordinary Malaysians watching wage growth stagnate, supply chains relocate overseas, and economic gains concentrate among a narrow segment of society, GEAR-uP represents a direct policy response — one designed to ensure that national wealth does not merely generate returns on paper, but translates into jobs, fairer wages, and stronger local industries.
GLICs Anchor RM120 Billion National Wealth Mission for Malaysian Communities
GEAR-uP was launched in 2024 by the Ministry of Finance to unlock RM120 billion over five years, driving socioeconomic reforms and accelerating Malaysia’s industrial transformation. The programme is anchored by six major GLICs: Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), Kumpulan Wang Persaraan Diperbadankan (KWAP), Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT), and Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH).
“This is not capital seeking passive returns,” Prime Minister Anwar said in the GEAR-uP Progress Report released on August 7, 2026. “It is national wealth mobilised with national purpose. We are only entering the third year of this journey. Much has been achieved, but much remains to be done.”
The programme’s architecture is deliberately structured around community-level outcomes. Rather than measuring success solely through portfolio returns, GEAR-uP tracks living wages adopted, graduates placed in meaningful employment, Bumiputera firms scaled to national prominence, and supply chains anchored on Malaysian soil. A portfolio total shareholder return of 8.0 per cent was recorded in 2025 — but the MoF report is explicit that numbers alone do not define the programme’s success.
GEAR-uP Investments Generating Real Jobs and Infrastructure for Everyday Malaysians
The domestic investment figures translate into concrete projects that directly benefit Malaysian communities. KWAP-backed Google’s Selangor data centre adds a further 320 MW of capacity and 26,500 jobs through 2026 and 2027, alongside Empyrion Digital’s phased build-out in Johor — developments that create employment for Malaysian technologists and tradespeople alike.
Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s (TNB) grid investment under Regulatory Period 4 rises from RM12 billion in 2025 towards RM15 billion in 2027, supporting Malaysia’s target of achieving 70 per cent renewable energy in installed capacity by 2050. Malaysia Airports is delivering a five-year, RM11 billion upgrade programme, with Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) targeting over 100 million passengers in annual capacity — investments that ripple outward into hospitality, logistics, and retail employment.
For Bumiputera communities specifically, ten companies are targeted for listing over 2026 and 2027. The 10 Bumiputera Champions Programme is actively scaling Bumiputera enterprises, while Zakat Wakalah is targeted to reach RM100 million in 2026, up sharply from RM28 million the previous year. GLIC funds including Dana Impak, Dana Perintis, Dana Pemacu, and Ekuinas are carrying more companies from the venture to growth stage. Khazanah’s planned Dana Ciptawan adds a further RM200 million earmarked for Bumiputera enterprises and mid-tier Malaysian firms.
GEAR-uP’s Inclusive Design Ensures Benefits Reach All Segments of Malaysian Society
It has become clear through the GEAR-uP Progress Report that the programme is structured to extend economic benefits beyond large corporations and institutional investors, reaching working Malaysians, graduates, and underserved communities. Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan articulated this directly: “Capital builds nothing on its own; an investment becomes prosperous only when a Malaysian is ready to fill the work it creates, and is paid fairly for it.”
The programme measures success through living wages adopted across GLIC-linked companies, graduates placed in high-quality employment, and the expansion of local supply chains. Government-linked companies (GLCs) remain on course for RM100 billion in additional market value by 2028, with the MY Value Up initiative now extending the same performance discipline to Malaysia’s 88 largest listed companies — a structural change designed to raise standards across the entire corporate ecosystem rather than within a narrow government-linked perimeter.
The Capital Market Masterplan targets RM5.8 to RM6.3 trillion in market capitalisation by 2030, a goal that depends on sustaining the investment pipeline now underway. The MoF report frames this not as an institutional aspiration but as a community outcome: a deeper, more resilient economy whose gains are distributed across Malaysian society.
Independent Verification and Transparent Reporting Underpin Public Confidence in GEAR-uP
Safety and accountability are what Malaysian communities need most when government capital is deployed at scale. The GEAR-uP Progress Report, released publicly by the Ministry of Finance on August 7, 2026, provides independently verifiable data on deployment figures, project milestones, and shareholder returns — giving citizens, journalists, and analysts the information needed to hold the programme accountable.
Prime Minister Anwar, who also serves as finance minister, affirmed the programme’s accountability framework directly: “The rakyat remains our measure of success.” The MoF report notes that Malaysia was able to hold steady through external turbulence as a result of earlier reforms in 2023, providing a traceable policy chain from reform to outcome. The programme’s direction was established at the outset in 2024, and every subsequent development has been framed as a delivery exercise against publicly stated targets.
GLICs and GLCs have committed to staying the course, continuing to deploy capital, and ensuring that what is being built takes root and flourishes within Malaysia — a commitment the report describes as rooted in long-term national purpose rather than short-term institutional interest.
Here Is What You Need to Know About GEAR-uP and Malaysia’s GLIC Domestic Investment Programme
What is GEAR-uP and who launched it? GEAR-uP — the Government-Linked Enterprises Activation and Reform Programme — was launched in 2024 by Malaysia’s Ministry of Finance under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Its goal is to unlock RM120 billion in GLIC and GLC capital over five years to drive socioeconomic reform and industrial transformation.
How much did GLICs invest domestically under GEAR-uP in 2025? GLICs allocated and deployed RM20.3 billion domestically in 2025 under the GEAR-uP programme. This represents approximately three times the RM6.6 billion deployed in 2024, with momentum continuing into the first quarter of 2026.
Which GLICs are part of the GEAR-uP programme? The six GLICs anchoring GEAR-uP are Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), Kumpulan Wang Persaraan Diperbadankan (KWAP), Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT), and Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH).
What is the total shareholder return delivered by GLIC portfolios in 2025? GLIC-linked portfolios delivered a total shareholder return of 8.0 per cent in 2025, as reported in the GEAR-uP Progress Report released by the Ministry of Finance on August 7, 2026.
How does GEAR-uP benefit ordinary Malaysians rather than just institutions? GEAR-uP measures success through living wages adopted, graduates placed in quality employment, Bumiputera firms scaled to national prominence, and supply chains rooted in Malaysia. The programme’s stated measure of success is the rakyat — ordinary Malaysian citizens — not institutional returns alone.
What major infrastructure projects are linked to GEAR-uP investments? Key projects include the KWAP-backed Google data centre in Selangor adding 26,500 jobs, TNB’s grid investment rising from RM12 billion in 2025 to RM15 billion in 2027, and Malaysia Airports’ RM11 billion five-year upgrade targeting over 100 million passengers at KLIA.
What is the target for Bumiputera enterprise development under GEAR-uP? Ten Bumiputera-linked companies are targeted for stock exchange listing over 2026 and 2027. Zakat Wakalah is targeted to reach RM100 million in 2026, up from RM28 million in 2025. Khazanah’s Dana Ciptawan will add RM200 million specifically for Bumiputera enterprises and mid-tier Malaysian firms.
Malaysia’s National Wealth Is Being Mobilised With a Clear Community Purpose
GEAR-uP’s RM20.3 billion in domestic GLIC investments in 2025 is not an end in itself — it is the measurable beginning of a multi-year commitment to building an economy that raises, as the MoF report states, its ceiling and its floor together. For Malaysians seeking evidence that national wealth is being directed toward jobs, wages, infrastructure, and community resilience rather than passive institutional returns, the GEAR-uP Progress Report provides a traceable, publicly available record.
The programme’s next three years carry real deliverables already in motion: more Bumiputera companies listed, more graduates in quality employment, more supply chains built on Malaysian soil, and a capital market targeting RM5.8 to RM6.3 trillion by 2030.
For more information on the GEAR-uP programme and the full Progress Report, visit the Ministry of Finance Malaysia’s official channels or contact the MoF communications office in Putrajaya.
