GEORGE TOWN, Nov 30 — The Penang state government is collecting data on the billion-ringgit aquaculture industry in the state, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said.
He said the state is now in the midst of streamlining statistics on the fish farms.
“This is something we want to explore to look at how to grow the industry further, which is a RM1 billion business in Penang,” he said during a press conference after officially launching the Siemens Digitalisation Expedition here.
He said fish farmers are given a temporary occupation licence (TOL) for areas in the sea to set up their cages.
He said the state needs to collate information on these farms, such as how many licences were issued, the size of each farm and whether the farms were issued licences by the Fisheries Department.
“All these can be entered into a database to see what we can do and use technology to help fish farmers see more growth,” he said.
Earlier, in his speech, Chow said Penang industries need to increase their productivity to boost their competitiveness both locally and globally.
“The country’s workforce is made up of 20 per cent of foreign labour, and Malaysia can continue to improve on our productivity level,” he said.
He added that the manufacturing sector contributes about 23 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with an average growth rate of about 5 per cent.
“If we are to become a major manufacturing hub and powerhouse, the projected growth needs to expand to between 8 and 10 per cent annually,” he said.
He said this can only be achieved through Industry 4.0 where integrated processing and automation, cloud systems, digital services and connectivity of hardware and software help spur growth.
He said this is the time for Penang to shift towards a digital economy through the state’s many initiatives.
He said technologies are already impacting different sectors and industries, be it in manufacturing, services, E&E, or even agriculture.
“With companies moving up the value-chain and evolving into more high-tech manufacturing and production activities, we are already experiencing the rise of digitalisation and Industry 4.0 that have the capacity to generate desired outcomes like greater productivity and efficiency, increased flexibility, and lower cost,” he said.
The Siemens Digitalisation Expedition is a series of roadshows organised in different selected states in Malaysia to showcase the concept of digitalisation and Industry 4.0.
