SHAH ALAM: The Selangor government has launched the Business Linkages and Advancement Programme (BLAST) to help local SMEs win contracts with multinational and mid-tier companies operating in the state.
The inaugural cohort focuses on four strategic sectors identified as key drivers of Selangor’s future economic growth – aerospace, rail, life sciences and digital technology.
Selangor Executive Councillor for Investment, Trade and Mobility Ng Sze Han said the new initiative is part of efforts to ensure investment inflows translate into direct benefits for domestic businesses.
“This is a new initiative born out of a collaboration between Invest Selangor and the Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC). The main purpose is to develop local SMEs,” he told reporters after the launch today.
“The approach is very straightforward. We have brought in several anchor investors who are based in, or have entered, Selangor. And these anchor investors will help local SMEs by using services or buying products from SME companies here.”
Ng said the anchor investors involved are Base Maintenance Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Sime UMW Aerospace, Duopharma Biotech Bhd, Bridge Data Centres Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd.
“This represents a large investment in Selangor, and they need all kinds of services or supplies from SMEs,” he added.
Twelve SMEs have been selected for the pioneer cohort, with the state targeting a 5% revenue increase for participants by 2030.
Ng said: “12 SMEs, and our target is that by 2030, their revenue will be able to increase by 5%. That is our initial target.” This marks only the first phase of the programme, with more initiatives planned to help local SMEs meet the standards required to supply anchor companies and other players in the same sectors, he said.
“We will handhold the SMEs in order for them to meet international standards. Because if they want to supply products or services to this kind of international company, they need to meet international standards.”
Going forward, Ng said, the state government plans to expand the programme to more SMEs and strategic sectors to attract more quality investment.
“For every investment we bring into Selangor, the number matters. Whether it is a billion or several hundred million, that number matters. But at the same time, for us, what matters more is how investments like this can help local SMEs get more orders or projects. So this is one of the directions for the investment we bring into Selangor.”
Ng disclosed that Selangor recorded RM33.5 billion in approved investments in the first quarter of 2026, the highest of any state, while the state’s 2025 gross domestic product reached RM460.1 billion, or 26.5% of the national economy.
“These numbers matter. But approved investment is just the starting line. The real test is how many contracts our local companies win. It is how many Selangor SMEs enter the supply chains of the global companies we bring in. It is how many local firms grow from supplier to partner, and from partner to champion.”
Ng said development economists have a warning for governments that chase investment without building local linkages. “They call it building ‘cathedrals in the desert’.
“Big factories that look impressive but stand alone. They import everything, connect to nothing, and leave little behind. Selangor will not build cathedrals in the desert.”
MTDC group CEO Mohammad Hazani Hassan said the programme is designed to give SMEs a clearer route into major supply chains. “Through BLAST, we are creating structured pathways for promising SMEs to engage with anchor companies, strengthen their industry readiness and compete for opportunities within strategic supply chains.”
BLAST’s Ecosystem Partners are Malaysian Bioeconomy Development Corporation, Malaysia Aerospace Industry Association, National Tech Association of Malaysia and Malaysia Rail Industry Corporation.
The programme is introduced under the Local Market Integration Programme of the Second Selangor Plan, which has yet to be tabled in the Selangor State Legislative Assembly.
