Malaysia Must Position Itself As Tech Nation, Align Capital, Policy And Industry - Liew

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 29 (Bernama) -- Malaysia must shift its mindset from being primarily a trading nation to positioning itself as a technology nation, aligning capital, policy and industry to unlock the full potential of its existing advanced capabilities, said Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong today.

He said aligning policy, money and industry was critical because more could be achieved economically with better alignment.

“There is no better time (than now) to organise ourselves technologically. We will be in a (better) position if we can do so," he said in his opening remarks at The BIG Programme: Corporate Innovation Forum organised by Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd here today. 

Liew said Malaysia already has very sophisticated and complex capabilities in parts of its industrial ecosystem, particularly in semiconductors and semiconductor-related equipment. Nevertheless, these industries have largely developed by vertically serving multinational corporations.

There has not been a concerted effort to align and proliferate horizontal integration within the ecosystem, and the current priority should be to link more advanced capabilities across sectors, he said.

Liew said advanced industries such as semiconductors should be connected with other sectors, including medical devices, factory equipment, developers and potentially defence, as well as agriculture, by bringing technology and equipment into these industries.

He added that global conditions have created a window of opportunity for Malaysia to organise itself technologically.

-- BERNAMA