- 7 weeks ago
MIMOS Berhad celebrates 40 years at MTP 2025, shifting from research institute to accelerator of market-ready technologies. How can SMEs, startups, and industries tap into innovations like REVA & INSPECTRA to power up their business? Catch full discussion with MIMOS’ President and GCEO, Dr Saat Shukri Embong and CTO, Dr Pannirselvam Kanagaratnam.
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00:00Hello and thank you for tuning in to Niagaoni with me Nabila Kalidah.
00:12Right now we're broadcasting live from IOI Grand Exhibition and Convention Center in Putrajaya
00:17for MIMOS Technology Preview 2025 or MTP 2025.
00:22And the theme this year is Bolt Wand, power up your business with market-ready tech and unrivaled partnership.
00:29So it's also a historic year for MIMOS Berhad, Malaysia's National Applied Research and Development Center or R&D
00:36as it marks its 40th anniversary. So from its beginnings as a research institute,
00:41MIMOS is now accelerating the nation's transition into high-tech, knowledge-based economy.
00:47So joining me today are two key leaders of MIMOS, Balastor of Earth with Dr. San Shukri Mbong,
00:53the President also Group Chief Executive Officer of MIMOS Berhad.
00:56Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
01:00Alright, thank you for joining me in Niagaoni this morning.
01:03Perhaps we could start with the theme of MTP this year which is Bolt and also ambitious.
01:07So what does the really signal about MIMOS shift from a research institute
01:12to becoming an accelerator for Malaysia's economic transition as a whole?
01:19MIMOS Tenerife Review 2025 is a platform whereby we bring everybody together from the innovation and the business ecosystem
01:29which actually the theme itself signal the major transition in MIMOS activities and role whereby in the past we mostly focus on the technology development alone.
01:42And today we are looking at accelerating the adoption of the technology by the industry and the marketplace whereby we want to actually diffuse and introduce all our innovation to the world for the benefits of the people and the human kind.
02:00And for this actually we bring all the people rather I mean either from the government as regulator, the policy makers, the entrepreneur, the researcher, innovators as well as the users to come together to collaboratively work together to make this happen for Malaysia.
02:21So MIMOS has reached a new milestone. It celebrates the 40th anniversary this year. So how has the organisation evolved across decades and also how has it aligned itself with today's urgent national needs right now in technology?
02:36MIMOS Tenerife Review 2025 is a very long journey.
02:37MIMOS Tenerife Review 2025 is a very long journey and a very interesting one and actually we have been evolved from a centre that previously mainly focused on developing microelectronics technologies actually to leverage the spillover effect from our previous days FDIs and change to the accelerator of the technology adoption and also the
03:06industrialization of the industrialization of Malaysia through our innovation and technology division.
03:13So over these years actually we have been developing many of Malaysian firsts. For example as I mentioned earlier back in 1991 actually we produced the first Malaysian microprocessor called Persona.
03:28And we also actually one of the first actually that brought internet to Malaysia as we know Jaring in the past.
03:35And many others for example the security chip, the E-POM, we brought in the security system which actually later on a spin-off to become the cyber security Malaysia.
03:48And actually we are developing my domain for Malaysia that later on a spin-off become my nickname today.
03:55The MSC Malaysia and many others. And today we are looking at beyond what we would be able to achieve in the past because we realise many of the developed and advanced economy rely heavily on technology.
04:12Technology actually driven the country economy and we want to be the key player to actually accelerate that and most importantly to be recognised as one of the movers in this particular region and actually for the benefit of the world.
04:28So looking at the technological advancements that's moving so fast and also complex right now I think it's a must transitioning from R&D and also towards an accelerator for the national needs.
04:42So looking at the big highlight of MTP 2025 which is the idea of unrivaled partnership.
04:47So we hear about the quadruple helix, the government, industry, the academia and also society working together at the same time.
04:54So why is this comprehensive model of collaboration so important and also critical for Malaysia's innovations to be globally commercialised?
05:03Traditionally actually the researchers tend to actually envision something and quickly develop the technology because they believe that the technology is unique and something that people would need.
05:16Although it's true in many cases but actually the innovation requires cohesive collaboration among all the players, the regulators, the policy makers, the innovators, the researchers because actually we need to make sure all this technology fits into the whole aspiration, the requirement of the market, the intent or the needs of the users.
05:43And actually we want to do this early when we start developing the ideas, slowly develop the technology and transforming that technology into the solution that be acceptable in the marketplace and meeting all the requirements and the global standards.
05:59Because we want to make sure that whatever we produce, industry can easily pick it up and move directly to the business and create mutual benefits for everyone either from the business point of view, the economy and other benefits.
06:13So through this MTB 2035, how do you hope from this exhibition can actually move or foster this collaboration forward?
06:20We hope more people to join us and previously we actually have a number of people that are working together with us.
06:30Today we actually inviting everybody, inviting them to work closely with us to co-create a new Malaysia based on technology so that we no longer become the consumer or the trader of technology but we also the creator and innovator of those technology making
06:49Malaysia more sovereign in terms of technology and this will actually benefit more people and more people will come to collaborate further with us.
06:59Who or what are some of the key shareholders that is working closely together to actually empower this whole ambition?
07:07It starts with our market study. Actually we do a lot of market validation and give those input to the policy makers like ministry, our ministry and also the agencies.
07:19They produce the policy and from there actually we work with the industry to fine-tune the requirement and the needs of the solution so that it will satisfy the issues of the challenges at the marketplace.
07:35And the other people that would really need this technology are the entrepreneurs or the entrepreneurs of Malaysia.
07:43I mean we know the technology is something that is crucial and quite challenging and we must provide all these platforms and facilities to enable everyone to come together.
07:54And we hope with all these funding agencies coming together, the ministry, the agency, the people, the entrepreneurs and researchers, we will actually make that happen.
08:04What could be the specific strategies that we can ensure a smooth transition from being an R&D to become the accelerator?
08:13We do an early engagement. That's the most important thing. Actually we need to make sure whatever we develop is in line with the government aspiration within our introduced policy and existing framework.
08:26And the product actually meet the industry requirement. Actually it satisfies the situational environment or the requirement of the world, the standards etc.
08:37And the cost actually is below what the customer willing to pay to make sure that everybody will make profit out of it.
08:46And actually the most important thing actually the process to transition from R&D lab to the marketplace.
08:52Because actually it needs a major shift in terms of talent, knowledge etc.
08:57Actually we also work together with the industry to develop these talents with the universities to make sure that when the technology goes to the market,
09:04they have sufficient support. Not just from the facilities, the shared facilities, but also from the engineers researchers, from the new talent and also other elements to support the advancement of those technologies to go to the market and grow for the future.
09:19Alright, thank you Dr. Saad for sharing your insight also time when it comes to MIMO's journey and its role in driving Malaysia's technology future.
09:27Now lets you focus to the technology itself but for now we'll go for a short break first. We'll be right back.
09:49Alright, welcome back to Niagawani. I'm still broadcasting live here at MTP 2025, IOI Grand Exhibition and Convention Centre, Putrajaya.
09:59And we now see many innovations in the pipeline from health sensors to AI driven solutions.
10:06So we want to know how does MIMO's actually decide what's ready for the market.
10:10So for that, I'm pleased to welcome Dr. Parnil Selvam Kanagaratnam, Chief Technology Officer of MIMO's.
10:15Good morning.
10:16Thank you for joining here with me, Onya Gawani, this morning.
10:19So to start Dr. Parnil, let's go to the lab. Let's start with the lab.
10:23Okay.
10:24With the so many R&D ideas being explored, we see how do you think we will decide which ones to get the green light to move forward.
10:30And for example, solutions like non-invasive health sensors. What do you think about that?
10:34Okay.
10:35So MIMO takes a whole of organisation approach when it comes to commercialising what tech to do first.
10:42So the green lighting doesn't start at the lab itself.
10:45We have what we call MBIC, MIMO's Business Investment Council.
10:50So even though it's R&D budget, our stakeholders are expecting whatever technology we develop benefits the industry,
10:59benefits the government. So what we do is, at this council, we have the technology development team.
11:06We have the business team, the strategy team. We all discuss and look at the projects.
11:12And we all do our homework. Okay. We go to the industry. We go on the ground.
11:15We also do our desktop research. And we try to find out what is it that is the pain points in the industry.
11:21What is the immediate need of the governments? And even the long term.
11:28Because we go on the five-year cycle, RMK-12, RMK-13. That's how the government funds us.
11:33So before even we start the projects, we go and do all this groundwork.
11:38We talk to industries. We talk to government officials. We try to see what is the pain points.
11:43And we develop all these technologies based on that. So the green light that comes from the lab is,
11:50when we work in the industries, they actually provide us the space. They provide us the test ground.
11:56And we go and test our devices, our equipment, like the non-intrusive glucose sensor.
12:02We work with the medical associations. We work with the hospitals. We go and try there.
12:07And we do the measurements. And we compare it with other technologies that are there.
12:13Or even, for example, the blood glucose. You have to prick your finger.
12:16Yes.
12:17A lot of people don't want to do that.
12:19But we get the ground-truth data from that. Okay. And then we compare with our measurements.
12:23So when we see that there's a strong correlation, then we know that our technology is ready.
12:28And it's the same with our palm oil technology.
12:30We work with the SIMDA base. We work with the FGVs. We go on the ground. We do the experiments on the ground with them.
12:38And we see whether this technology is suitable for them. And when we get the buy-in from them,
12:44that's when we say, okay, they're now ready to get into the market. And we do all the needful to make it successful.
12:51But with all these efforts, with the collaboration of all different sectors, the talent are the key drivers.
12:57Correct. So how can we bring them forward?
12:59Okay. So we have a very, very strong internship program. Okay.
13:03MIMOS itself, we attract a lot of universities especially. Many of them do their internships at MIMOS.
13:10We also have what is called a MIMOS Academy. We have formed that. And that is where we provide training ground in areas of AI,
13:19semiconductor, IoT. These are all the buzzwords now. Okay. And we provide all this training for,
13:26because when the PM came to MIMOS, he said, oh, five years he wants 60,000 talents in engineering, right?
13:34Because at the end of the day, if you want to become a high-income nation, technology is the way to go.
13:41Our E&E exports are going at 500 billion. It's the largest export. It's all tech-based.
13:49And MIMOS being the lead agency in this E&E sector, so we have a responsibility as well to develop the talent in this field.
13:59And we have a lot of programs with the industries to develop the innovation, entrepreneurship.
14:04And now our CEO has instituted JB Coast. He wants 700. We have 700 staff. He wants 700 entrepreneurs to come out of MIMOS.
14:13Okay. To drive, because we don't want the tech to just sit in the lab. We want it to be out there, to be diffused in the market.
14:20That's a good initiative, especially when we want to become a high-growth, high-value nation.
14:25Yes.
14:26But when we talk about what's proven in the lab, there's often a commercialization gap.
14:31So where great ideas struggle to become successful products.
14:34So how does MIMOS bridge that gap that we have right now, the commercialization gap?
14:38And perhaps you can share examples like Reva and also InSpectra.
14:41Okay. So we have 30 over technologies. So it's mandatory that even before we start the program, we work with the industry.
14:51Like I mentioned, even to address the pain points, we work with the industry.
14:55So along even the development, the industry is there.
14:59Okay. So this ensures that when the technology is completed, the industry gets the market.
15:08So a lot of people do their development, a lot of research institutes do their development without the engagement of the industry.
15:16So that's why we see this, what they call the valley of death, basically.
15:20And they already do the technology development, but there are no takers at the end of the day.
15:25But we are addressing this gap by getting the industry involved from the get-go to work with us and refine the requirements of the technology so that there's a market fit.
15:36So the technology that we develop fits what the market needs.
15:39And this is how we have been doing it.
15:42And the funding is there for us to do all these POCs.
15:46We go to many different industry segments.
15:49For example, like I mentioned, the palm oil.
15:51And then we also are working the energy efficiency domain.
15:55So one of the companies that we have worked with, it was a start-up, a small start-up.
15:59Three years ago, it was just a few hundred thousand dollar company.
16:04But then we worked with them, we developed the technology, entered the market.
16:07Now with the ESG and all, energy efficiency is a big thing.
16:11So now they are pulling in millions of dollars per year now, thanks to working with us from the get-go.
16:18So this is how we have been addressing the gaps in the market.
16:22That's on commercialisation, what could be the other challenges that could be stopping or perhaps be the barrier when it comes to transitioning from R&D to market lab?
16:34Okay, so usually it's the budget.
16:37Because when we produce all these technologies, we want the company that takes up the technology to also be a technology company.
16:45Because we don't have the bandwidth to support.
16:47The technology that we have produced over RMK12 and we are moving into RMK13.
16:52So we can't be putting all our energy and effort into maintaining and supporting this technology.
16:59So what we need are industry players that are tech-savvy.
17:02And they also, sometimes when they are not so tech-savvy, they do all the talent development to get all the engineers.
17:10And we work with them to develop all their capabilities so that when the product goes to them,
17:14they are able to support the product independently from us or minimal.
17:19Because when we pass over the technology, we pass everything over, the IPs, the design and all that.
17:25So that they can also do the continuous improvement on the product and that helps them.
17:30So that is key to work with them from the beginning and also the funding.
17:37Okay.
17:38And we also, like we have the funding agencies, some of them are here.
17:42They help with the commercialization aspects of it.
17:46Because it's very costly.
17:47Dr. Shukri just now mentioned, we go to TRL 6.
17:50But the 7 to 9, you have to go and certify at CRM and other regulatory bodies for medical devices.
17:56It's a very lengthy process.
17:58It takes more than a year to do that.
18:00It's very expensive as well.
18:01We have to do hundreds of trials.
18:03So all this is very dollar, costly, very costly.
18:08And so budget is required.
18:10And we have financial institutions as well at our MTP to help all our SMEs and small industries to adapt technology.
18:19Technology is not cheap but money is key.
18:23You've touched on that which brings me to my next question.
18:26Where MTP actually is important for smaller businesses.
18:29So what tangible support mechanism are available for small medium enterprises and also startups
18:35so they can actually adopt this advanced market related technologies that is more easy?
18:40So we try to provide the services and infrastructure as well for them to succeed.
18:46Because the design tools, the simulation tools to do technology is all very expensive.
18:51For example, we have the DDTM program, Digitalized Design to Manufacturing, where we provide the SOLIDWORKS tools.
18:59It is a very expensive tool that can't be afforded by our SMEs.
19:02But every year we provide 30 to 50 licenses to these industries for them to be able to use and do their product development.
19:10It's the same with other tools.
19:12The IC design tool is worth millions of dollars.
19:15And startups can't afford this type of investment into projects.
19:19So MIMOS provides that.
19:21MIMOS also has the talents and the consultants to help the industries to get all this necessary support so that they can be successful when it comes to marketing and also delivering on their products.
19:35And on top of that, MIMOS, of course, has got a lot of IPs.
19:40So the IPs, there are many business models.
19:43So they can discuss with our commercial team on what is best for them.
19:47Not everybody can purchase the IP outright.
19:49Maybe we do equity sharing or some partnerships and then we share the profits.
19:56There are a lot of business models to help them get started first and then later they can repay us back through the taxes and whatnot.
20:04Do you have specific numbers of startups or SMEs that you wish to help through this MTP?
20:10We are targeting as many as possible.
20:13So I heard as of last night we had close to a thousand registrations.
20:18And a lot of people, I hope, even without informing us, they will be showing up.
20:23They told me they have not registered.
20:25So we are expecting all of them to see something that sparks their ideas.
20:30Every time visitors come to MIMOS, they look at all our outputs and their minds are already saying,
20:38Oh, it can go to this sector, it can go to this sector.
20:41Oh, I've got opportunities in this particular segment.
20:44So things that we don't see, other people may be able to see.
20:48And being a government funded project, there's no exclusivity to any particular SME or company.
20:55So we can give it to anybody who comes in and I see an opportunity.
21:00What are some of the highlights and also offerings that we have here at MTP?
21:04I've seen booths inside, so how much they have?
21:08So we have, I think, many different sectors.
21:12I think about five or six.
21:14We have smart manufacturing technologies.
21:16We have energy efficiency technologies.
21:19We have medical devices technologies.
21:23We have traceability technology.
21:26In fact, my digital idea that is now being rolled out was developed at MIMOS.
21:31That's a government initiative.
21:35So like that, we have even for smart lockups to see behaviors of prisoners and all that.
21:43Even for smart workplace to see whether people are wearing their helmets,
21:47whether they're wearing all their safety gears.
21:49We have, like I mentioned just now, the energy efficiency to manage cooling in the building.
21:54Because in buildings, air conditioning is the highest consumability.
22:01We can get about 20% to 30% savings on that.
22:05So there's a lot of, later we can go in and see all the different offerings that we have,
22:10cutting across many different sectors and segments.
22:14But our key thing in MIMOS, our research areas are in semiconductor, electronics, which means product-based, as well as ICT,
22:23where the blockchains, the cybersecurity, the AI all reside.
22:27So we are quite cross-cutting across the tech space.
22:31That's a lot of insight also.
22:33That's a lot of offerings for those joining MTP 2025.
22:36So perhaps in about one minute, perhaps you can share what are your hopes and aspirations through this MTP.
22:42Longer preview 2025, please.
22:44Okay.
22:45So the MTP, as you can see at the back, is market-ready tech products.
22:51So we are inviting all our Malaysian industries, even if they're not here at MTP, to get in touch with us,
23:00to look at the technology offerings that we have and to take up and diffuse it.
23:04Because at the end of the day, the country is trying to become a high-income nation
23:08and our Prime Minister sees technology as the way.
23:12And MIMOS being one of the few technology-developing institutions, this is your opportunity.
23:19Take advantage of us and please, please come and make use of all the facilities,
23:25as well as the tech offerings that we have to enhance and grow this country.
23:30And with that, I would like to say thank you so much, Dr. Farney, for your insights and for your time
23:34that you should spend with me just now.
23:36And as Maisie looks forward, the mission is clear.
23:39We see that turning research into real-world impact.
23:41So from cutting-edge innovations to stronger partnerships,
23:44MIMOS is positioning itself not just as a research hub,
23:47but as an accelerator of Malaysia's tech-driven economy.
23:51So that's all from Niagawani at MTP 2025.
23:54I'm Nabila Kalida. Thank you for joining us.
23:56And stay tuned for more sharing and also coverage right here on Niagawani.
24:06Thank you for joining us.
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