Minister: More than 5,000 MNCs adopted Industry 4.0

KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 — More than 5,000 foreign multinational companies (MNCs) in Malaysia have embraced the technological revolution of Industry 4.0, a minister said today.

Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said it was nothing surprising given that these companies had the capital and technological advances to ensure they remained relevant.

“Industry 4.0 is already happening and for these companies to remain relevant, they have to adopt this change,” he told a press conference after officiating a seminar on the matter for government officials.

Industry 4.0, or Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4), combines computers and automation, with the use of cyber-physical systems to monitor the physical process of a manufacturing factory.

Such factors, dubbed as a “smart factory”, will reduce human dependency and enable pure transparency in day-to-day operations.

Mustapa, however, said several local small and medium enterprises (SME) have yet to know about Industry 4.0. 

“Some are unaware what it is all about and that is why MITI has taken lead to collaborate with government agencies, ministries and industry players to educate them about the implications of Industry 4.0,” he said, using the initials for the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.

He said public and private partnerships were crucial to ensure the effective adoption of the change on a larger scale.

“We are bringing in people from the industry today to share with government officials what is the reality happening on the ground for Industry 4.0,” Mustapa said.

This, he said, was important to ensure policies created are effective when addressing the needs of stakeholders.

Presently, the government together with industry players, are in the midst of formulating the National Industry 4.0 Blueprint.

“Many of us, be it ministries, agencies or companies, have some plan for Industry 4.0, but we are not doing it together and that is why we are now working together for this purpose,” he said.

The blueprint is expected to be ready and tabled at the Cabinet by end of this year.

While several nations have started looking at its pros and cons of Industry 4.0, Cincinnati Mayor John Carnely has proclaimed his state in the US as “Cincinnati to be Industry 4.0 Demonstration City”.