KUALA LUMPUR: The strategic cooperation between the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) and the Ministry of Higher Education (KPT) can catalyse the country’s industrial growth, especially in supporting the development of more talents at the global level.
Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said a trained and competitive workforce is key to the success of the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030).
“The shortage of skilled talent has become a constant issue among our investors, both domestic and foreign.
“Without a holistic solution on talent development and supply, Malaysia can never achieve the economic complexity, high-tech industrial ecosystem, net-zero target or the economic security envisaged by the NIMP 2030,” he said at the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between KPT and MIDA here today.
The ceremony was also attended by Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir.
Tengku Zafrul said the collaboration is in line with the aspirations of the MADANI Economy framework, the NIMP 2030 and also the Pelan Tindakan Pendidikan Tinggi Malaysia 2022-2025, which aims to create graduates and skilled talent to crown Malaysia among the 30 largest economies in the world by 2033.
He said that investment in the industrial sector is one of the most stable job creators for a country.
“This is the kind of slow but enduring capital that Malaysia needs,” Tengku Zafrul said.
For the 2021-2023 period, he noted that as many as 150,000 job opportunities have been created through 2,386 approved manufacturing projects.
Out of this, more than 81 per cent have already been implemented and most of these opportunities are for high-income skilled talents for Malaysians.
“For manufacturing projects which have been approved for the 2021-2023 period so far, a total of 3,678 or more than 83 per cent have been implemented, while 612 projects representing almost 14 per cent are at the planning stage,” he said.
Tengku Zafrul said that in 2023 alone, as of May 5, 2024, the project implementation rate shows that more than 63 per cent or 559 projects have been implemented, covering projects in the production stage, factory construction or machine/machinery installation.
“Typically, each project takes 18 to 24 months to implement. Next, almost 35 per cent or 309 projects are at the planning stage including activities such as location determination and discussions with developers and consultants
“Only 1.25 per cent or 11 projects have yet to be implemented and 0.45 per cent or four projects cannot be implemented for certain reasons, including changes in investor strategy,” he explained.
Tengku Zafrul added that this rate is encouraging, because this investment is not like the capital market where funds can go in immediately, but can also be withdrawn in just a few hours.
In addition, a “whole-of-nation” approach in fostering a resilient, robust and available industrial ecosystem with world-class talent is important for the Ministry, government agencies and industry to ensure Malaysia remains competitive and investor-friendly, he said.
“When we ensure a robust talent pipeline, we will strengthen Malaysia’s industrial capacity, and this is where we can push our value proposition that Malaysia is where global starts,” he said, adding that Malaysia is where global companies can situate their regional hubs, and where homegrown companies can grow into global champions.
