KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 — The KL20 Summit is set to be organised in June 2026, said Deputy Economy Minister Datuk Mohd Shahar Abdullah.

The KL20 summit is the government’s main initiative to promote Malaysia as a hub for the world’s top 20 startup ecosystems and to attract startups and international investors to invest in and operate companies in Malaysia.

Mohd Shahar said the summit was not held in 2025 because the initiative was launched the year prior and needed time to assess the development of startups in line with the latest innovations and technologies.

“Startup companies are not like regular companies as their economy is based on innovation, which requires a long process to bear results, and this year we will make improvements with the greatest focus on venture capital,” he said during a question-and-answer session at the Dewan Negara today.

He was replying to Senator Datuk Koh Nai Kwong’s question on the latest status of the Central Database Hub (PADU), the People’s Income Initiative (IPR), and the action plan for startup companies (KL20), and about the continuation of these initiatives under the current government administration.

Mohd Shahar said the implementation of the KL20 Action Plan would continue to involve all relevant ministries and agencies, as well as joint monitoring by the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

He said the plan aims to place Kuala Lumpur in 20th position in the global startup ecosystem by 2030.

“As of today, 5,005 startups have been successfully registered via MYStartup, and more than 24,000 recipients have successfully benefited from the KL20 Action Plan initiative, and it will be strengthened in line with existing government priorities,” he said.

Regarding PADU, he said the centralised database now contains profiles of more than 30.7 million citizens and permanent residents, resulting from data interactions with 204 agencies and 670 data sets, providing the country’s main secure and comprehensive database.

Meanwhile, for the IPR, he said a total of 6,988 households had participated, with 40 per cent earning more than RM2,000 per month.

He said that 47 Intan IPR projects are currently being implemented, involving nearly 1,700 participants, with total sales revenue accumulated until January 2026 estimated at RM22 million and an average additional income of around RM1,850 per month.

“Currently, the Ministry of Economy is considering new IPR Intan projects with a target of an additional 600 participants as well as the expansion of existing projects into new areas and other wider areas,” he added. — Bernama