00:00For this year's forum, the semiconductor is a catalyst for the Malaysia economy.
00:11With 2024 coming to a close, I would like to reflect on what the industry has achieved
00:17and what the industry should be doing in 2025.
00:20So far, 2024 has been a good year for the semiconductor industry.
00:24Yang Amar Brahmat, Datuk Sri Arnold Ibrahim, our dear Prime Minister, launched the National
00:29Semiconductor Strategy in May 2024, which has garnered a lot of interest worldwide.
00:35We have received strong E&E investments in this year, and our E&E exports for the first
00:4110 months, from January to October 2024, is RM491 billion, which is up 1.5% compared to
00:49last year.
00:50I'm still hoping that it will reach RM600 billion by the end of this year.
00:56If we do that, that will be a record.
00:58Malaysians must change their mindset from mere users of technology to developers and
01:04inventors of technology.
01:06Only then will we get higher value creation, the higher profit pool, the higher-paying
01:13jobs.
01:14That's what I think YBLU has been advocating throughout.
01:17This is possible if we own the technology, not only using and manufacturing it.
01:23Malaysian talents, you can do it.
01:26You have the government's support, and you have our support as well.
01:35But we also gather here to ponder a very difficult geopolitical situation.
01:42We are all fully aware that the semiconductor industry is at the heart of geopolitical tension,
01:49and therefore we know that we are dealing with very difficult scenarios and very difficult
01:56situations in the years to come.
01:58The semiconductor industry offers huge opportunities for Malaysia, but at the same time, geopolitical
02:04risks are a double-edged sword.
02:07In the first place, the current wave of massive investment into the semiconductor industry
02:12in Malaysia over the past two or three years was initially prompted by the relocation of
02:17supply chains away from China due to US-China geopolitical competition.
02:22The competition has opened up a new opportunity for Malaysia, a window of opportunity for Malaysia.
02:29However, this is where, while we were chatting, I thought I'd steal from CS Mime, because
02:36we were talking about the same thing, but I wrote the speech before I talked to him.
02:41So really, I think great many things are alike.
02:45If Malaysia continues to stay as an outsourced manufacturing site, and not move up to do
02:53more sophisticated stuff, time and tide waits for no one.
02:59In no time, it will not be relevant.
03:03Either because the supply chain is home-shore to the United States and the more advanced
03:09economy, or the manufacturing work will be outsourced to a cheaper location.
03:14Then we'll be caught in the middle again.
03:18Malaysia, especially the semiconductor industry, will have to do more to create Malaysian technologies.
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