On the ground: Nga with residents at the Sentuhan Kasih KPKT 3.0 programme in Kuantan.
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia scored two major achievements on the global stage in the areas of open data and press freedom, says Nga Kor Ming.
The Housing and Local Government Minister lauded the achievements, particularly in the Open Data Inventory (ODIN) 2024/25 ranking where the nation came up tops.
“Malaysia created history by securing the top position in the ODIN with an impressive overall score of 90.
“We outperformed 198 others, including developed nations such as Singapore, Finland, Denmark and Poland,” he told a press conference in conjunction with the Sentuhan Kasih KPKT 3.0 programme in Kuantan yesterday.
Nga said the milestone reflects the commitment of the Madani government with regard to data transparency and public accessibility, particularly through the launch of the OpenDOSM portal in 2023.
The platform modernised and centralised access to Malaysia’s official data while reinforcing the country’s digital governance framework.
“Open data is crucial because it supports evidence-based policy planning.
“When data is openly accessible, it enables more accurate, informed decision-making by policymakers.
“This also helps build public trust and strengthens governance,” he said.
The achievement, Nga added, also highlights Malaysia’s capability to compete globally with regard to its openness and coverage of official data.
He said this further cemented Malaysia’s status as a global leader on open government data.
The minister also highlighted a significant improvement in Malaysia’s ranking on the World Press Freedom Index 2025, published by Reporters Without Borders.
“Based on the latest evaluation, our ranking rose 19 spots from 107th in 2024 to 88th this year,” he said.
This marked improvement is seen as a positive sign due to ongoing reforms and improvements of the media landscape, he added.
Among Asean nations, Malaysia now holds the second-highest position on the index, behind Thailand, which is ranked 85th globally.
