The Ministry of International Trade and Industry of Malaysia is now drafting a study on the “Future of Manufacturing” to be used to formulate strategies to spark a Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) in the country.
Trade Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the study would be concluded by the third quarter of 2017. “It aims to provide deep analyses of five catalytic and high potential growth industries and sub-sectors,” he said, as reported by Bernama.
Among the sectors included in the study are those involved in electrical and engineering, chemicals, aerospace, medical devices, and machinery and equipment.
Mustapa said Industry 4.0 is critical in boosting the country’s industrial growth and hitting Malaysia’s economic target of MYR2 trillion (US$448 billion) target within the next seven to eight years as announced recently by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Currently, he said, the nation’s gross domestic product stands at about MYR1.2 trillion.
Moreover, several sub-sectors in Malaysia are in tandem with the Industry 4.0 such as the electrical and electronics, aerospace and car sectors.
“Concepts such as Factory of the Future, Internet of Things, Open Innovation Platform, Data Inter-Operability, Integrated and Intelligent Process Manufacturing and Digital Infrastructure are being used widely in these sub-sectors,” he said.
Besides the study, Mustapa said the ministry is also in talks with relevant agencies including the Economic Planning Unit and Science Academy of Malaysia as well as with industry players, training centers, and international investors to develop a comprehensive national Industry 4.0.
Meanwhile, Mustapa said the government has announced an additional allocation of MYR1 billion for the Domestic Investment Strategic Fund under the 11th Malaysia Plan to help accelerate the transition of domestic companies into industries that have high value-added and are high technology-oriented, knowledge-intensive, and innovation-based.
He said 235 projects, valued at MYR11.5 billion, have so far received grants totaling MYR995.8 million as at September 2016, including MYR548.2 million in capital grants and MYR47.5 million for the licensing and purchase of new and high technology.
Photo: David McKelvey
