KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 — Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said Malaysia is facing a shortage of high-level specialist engineers despite having a large number of factories and design centres.
He explained stakeholders have also raised concerns over the limited pool of top-tier engineering talent, a challenge that is not unique to Malaysia but reflects a global shortage.
“Several companies have already begun collaborating with local universities, and the government has introduced incentives for firms that provide high-quality training to Malaysian engineers.
“We do have engineers, but we lack highly specialised experts. This is not only Malaysia’s challenge but a global one,” he told Dewan Rakyat today.
Tengku Zafrul was responding to a supplementary question from Kubang Pasu MP Datuk Wira Ku Abd Rahman Ku Ismail on how Miti manages geopolitical risks to avoid over-dependence on a single country or company for AI (Artificial Intelligence) hardware.
He then said the government is also studying whether international students who graduate from Malaysian institutions should be allowed to remain and work in the country.
“The government is discussing with the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) so that international students studying at our public and private universities could be given the opportunity to work in Malaysia.
“This matter is still under discussion with MOHE,” he said.
Addressing concerns about access to AI chips, he described it as a geopolitically sensitive issue.
He said Malaysia intends to remain neutral as an open economy.
“It is true that this is a sensitive issue because both the United States and China have their own AI chips — American chips such as Nvidia and Chinese chips such as Huawei.
“We practise a neutral and inclusive approach. Companies using these chips are free to choose whether they want to use American chips or Chinese chips like Huawei. We want to strengthen access to both because Malaysia is an open economy and we welcome all investors,” he said.
Looking ahead, Tengku Zafrul said Malaysia aims to move up the semiconductor value chain by developing local companies capable of Integrated Circuit (IC) design and wafer fabrication.
