Ling (right) presenting a memento to Tinah in the presence of (from left) Abdul Rahman, Sudarsono, Manyin and Lau.
MIRI: Most Malaysian industries are still in Industry 2.0 and need to be at Industry 4.0 or the Malaysian economy may suffer from difficulties if the industry is not ready, pointed out Minister of Education, Science and Technological Research Dato Sri Michael Manyin Jawong.
“Previously, the first industrial revolution depended on the use of vapour-powered machines. The second industrial revolution involved electric power, followed by a third industrial revolution which is based on information technology and computer as its pillar.
“The fourth industrial revolution will see the Internet of Things (IoT) overhaul not only on business, but also in almost every aspect of everyday life,” Manyin said at the closing ceremony of a seminar on Workforce Development Programme and Schemes for Industry 4.0 at a hotel here yesterday, organised by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technological Research (MESTR) and Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM).
Therefore, there is a need for Malaysia to provide human capital for this new technology to retain and attract more foreign investments into the country, he added.
“We have to ensure all our efforts and energy are synergised and synchronised so that the 11th Malaysia Plan will be successful, together with the nation’s progress.
“It is the capacity and the capability of our workforce that will ultimately determine whether our investment and effort in other areas such as developing our infrastructure are attracting foreign investors in securing larger markets and so on,” he said, adding more efforts are needed as the country’s biggest challenge lies in the lack of technologically trained workers.
Meanwhile, according to FMM Sarawak Miri regional committee chairman Vincent Ling Lu Yew, the seminar yesterday was to increase the awareness of the latest policies, financial schemes and efforts by the state and federal government in developing Sarawak’s workforce among industry players and employers.
The seminar, which was the third this year, was participated by more than 100 industry players and among the speakers were Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF) head of East Malaysia Region Tinah Jerome, Sarawak Labour Department senior assistant director Bruno Jong, M.I.T Academy Sdn Bhd Kuala Lumpur vice president Navin Manghan Dewandas, SME Corporation Malaysia director Esmawady Mohd Esa and Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Department of University Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) senior lecturer Ir Dr Mohd Danial Ibrahim.
Among those present were MESTR permanent secretary Datu Sudarsono Osman, MESTR Workforce Development Division director Dr Abdul Rahman Deen and Meritz Hotel Group chairman Datuk Dr Lau Siu Wai.