PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday urged members of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to stop fighting over how the country's economic distribution should be split and focus instead on how it could be expanded.

"It is pointless fighting about how this economic cake is split when the real issue that we should be addressing is how we can make the cake bigger, in a world where business borders are irrelevant."

Najib said the problem was SMEs were not adopting technology as rapidly as they should be.

"We run the risk of being left behind if we do not reverse this situation. You, the SME sector, have to change your approach regarding innovation. You must make technology adoption an integral part of your business strategy."

Najib was speaking at a Chinese New Year open house-cum-briefing on the 2010 Malaysian Agency Bill hosted by the SMI Associaton of Malaysia at SJK (C) Sungai Way here.

More than 92 per cent of the business sector in Malaysia comprises SMEs, which employ 56 per cent of workers and contribute 31 per cent to the gross domestic product.

Najib said the newly launched government initiative, Special Innovation Unit (Unik), would help businesses find the technologies or innovations that could be converted into commercialised ventures.

Businesses will also find it easier to deal with the government through a new statutory body called the Malaysian Innovation Agency (Aim), which will be set up in April.

Aim was a result of the passing of the 2010 Malaysian Innovation Agency Bill in the last parliamentary sitting.

The government is also in the midst of drafting the National Innovation Policy that will provide the framework for the government to become more responsive and to simplify guidelines for businesses' innovation needs.

Najib said the government had taken steps to become business-friendly and would assist businesses wherever possible.

Unik chief executive officer Datuk Dr Kamal Jit Singh said Aim would act as a bridge between the research and development sector and the business sector.

"Our institutions of higher learning are capable of creating groundbreaking innovations that can create a good impact for SMEs, but you can't expect scientists to commercialise their products."

Dr Kamal Jit said Aim would be able to close the gap between what scientists created and what businesses wanted in developing commercial successes that were better catered to the market needs.

SMI Association of Malaysia president Chua Tiam Wee urged the government to look into the difficulties faced by SMEs, such as securing adequate financing at competitive rates for new startups; the issue of frequent policy changes in employing foreign workers to overcome shortage; and problems in dealing with government agencies to acquire halal certification and other licences.

He also called on SMEs to seize the opportunities available and to make use of innovation and technology in order for industries to move up the value chain.