This development follows Wednesday’s announcement by the newly-sworn in Prime Minister that government agencies, which are ‘political’ or ‘non-essential’, will be abolished or redeployed

The Malaysian government today said that several government agencies, including Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC), will be abolished.

This development follows an announcement on Wednesday by the newly-sworn in Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad that government agencies, which are ‘political’ or ‘non-essential’, will be abolished or redeployed.

When contacted, a MaGIC spokesperson told e27 that MaGIC has not been dissolved yet.  “Yesterday, the Prime Minister said that the review of all government agencies is still underway. He mentioned that final decisions would be made once this review was concluded and that some, but not all of the agencies under review will be disbanded. We are watching the situation closely and waiting for further updates.”

“In the meantime, it’s business as usual for us at MaGIC, as we continue our work to create a vibrant, open and collaborative entrepreneurship ecosystem in Malaysia that helps to nurture and inspire entrepreneurial talent as well as helping enable corporates to better connect and innovate with the startup community around them,” the spokesperson added.

On Wednesday, the Prime Minister said after chairing the first cabinet meeting. “Most of these institutions are not actually part of the government, and are supposed to ‘advise’ the government. All these (institutions) will be disbanded.”

MaGIC was launched in October 2013 by the then US President Barack Obama during the 4th Global Entrepreneurship Summit held in Kuala Lumpur. The agency runs a dozen programmes, including the recently-announced IDEA Accelerator for early-stage impact-driven enterprises and social enterprises.

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