SHAH ALAM, June 1 -- Malaysia must accept it was losing its competitive advantages from three decades ago and adapt, Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said of Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Berhad's closure of two facilities in the country.

Calling the "restructuring exercise" part-and-parcel of a private company's overall planning and decisions, Rafizi said Malaysia must develop a new competitive edge that better suited the country's goal of reaching high-income status.

Rafizi said this included injecting new leadership in the relevant economic sectors and the government's ongoing push towards green technology, given the reality that some competing nations had cheaper labour and lower infrastructure costs.

"When they decide to invest in...