Kuala Lampur, June 1 -- The Thirteenth Malaysia Plan (RMK13), the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030), and Asean 2045 all speak confidently about innovation, resilience, and high-value industries. Medical technology is frequently listed as one of the sectors expected to drive future growth.

The more important question, however, is whether we are prepared to build the kind of ecosystem that medical innovation actually requires.

Medical devices may not attract the same public attention as elections, fuel prices, or megaprojects, but they sit very close to everyday life. A blood pressure monitor in a rural clinic, a prosthetic limb for rehabilitation, a portable diagnostic tool in an overcrowded emergency department; these are the ...