KOTA KINABALU: The state government will strive to strike a balance between its resoluteness to embrace Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0) and providing employment for its graduates, says Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.
“We are aware that at least 5,000 students graduate from university every year, and where can they turn to for employment if most sectors have engaged machines to complement their workforce?
“So we need to strike a balance where we could ensure that employment is available in abundance yet at the same time are not left behind in IR 4.0,” he told reporters when met after launching a Sabah IT symposium at Sabah Federal Government Administrative Complex here yesterday.
He said it was imperative for the state government to be in sync and involved in IR 4.0.
“Otherwise, we will trail in our efforts to develop the state and country. This is because the systems that are currently in place will shortly become redundant, hence we need to adapt and familiarise ourselves with new knowledge in this industry,” he said.
To this end, Mohd Shafie said it was also a priority of the state government to provide the relevant infrastructure to accommodate IR 4.0, such as SABAH.NET and Warisan Harta Sabah.
Meanwhile, the two-day symposium was organised jointly by Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Sabah State Computer Services and SABAH.NET.
UMS represented by Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Taufik Yap Yun Hin also exchanged documents of industry cooperation with representatives of Cybersecurity Malaysia, Celcom Timur Sabah Sdn Bhd, Microsoft (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, NEM Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Fusionex Innovation and MISA Sdn Bhd. – Bernama