‘In the semiconductor industry, the trust of global customers is built through compliance with standards, consistency in delivery and strong operational capabilities.’
KUALA LUMPUR: Strengthening the participation of local companies in the semiconductor value chain can no longer rely solely on increasing investments.
Instead, semiconductor industry operations expert Jeyaseelan Vengataraman said it must be supported by the ability of local suppliers to meet global standards in terms of technology, quality and operational competitiveness.
He said Malaysia’s next phase of growth lies in ensuring local companies are capable of passing the technical, quality and delivery qualification processes that are typically required by multinational chip companies.
According to him, opportunities for local firms in the semiconductor industry are expanding, but these opportunities can only translate into actual contracts if suppliers are able to demonstrate process stability, accurate documentation, quality discipline and the ability to consistently support customers.
“We cannot focus only on the amount of investment or the number of companies involved.
“In the semiconductor industry, the trust of global customers is built through compliance with standards, consistency in delivery and strong operational capabilities,” he said in a statement on Friday.
Previously, the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) expanded local company participation in the semiconductor value chain through platforms connecting multinational anchor investors with Malaysian suppliers, including initiatives to identify capability gaps and facilitate business matching.
Jeyaseelan, who is also APAC vice-president of operations at Tessolve, said Malaysia already has strong capabilities in chip assembly, testing and packaging activities.
However, he noted that moving into higher-value segments such as chip design and advanced packaging would require local companies to strengthen their internal operational systems, engineer training and culture of continuous improvement.
He also stressed that the success of the local ecosystem should be measured by the number of suppliers able to pass global customer audits, secure product qualifications and maintain consistent delivery quality over the long term.
According to him, this approach is important as Malaysia is now competing not only to attract new investments, but also to prove that local companies are capable of becoming part of a more resilient, efficient and trusted global supply chain in the long run.
Tessolve describes Jeyaseelan as APAC vice-president of operations overseeing manufacturing and engineering activities across Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines, with more than 40 years of experience in the semiconductor industry, including test engineering, new product introduction (NPI), quality management, Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Kaizen and Six Sigma.
