KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 — The manufacturing sector must adopt Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) now to avoid being obsolete in the next 10 to 15 years, says Ministry International Trade and Industry (MITI) Sectorial Policy 1 Director M.Vimala.
She said said if the industry does not evolve, Malaysia might lose its strength as a manufacturing hub in the Southeast Asia region.
“If we do not adapt IR4.0 now in our manufacturing sector, we will be in trouble. We have to speed up so that we do not lag behind,” she told Bernama here today.
Vimala also said that right now the biggest challenge faced by the ministry was to push small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which lack awareness, skills, digital readiness and connectivity, to adopt IR4.0 .
“The government has conducted various initiatives and assistance to push digital connectivity. However, SMEs are still afraid to adapt to IR4.0 as they have a mindset that shifting to more advance technology would put a strain on the company’s cash flow,” she added.
Another reason why SMEs hesitate to migrate to IR4.0 is the fact that foreign labour is cheap.
“SMEs need to understand that IR4.0 can not only increase productivity but also be cost effective in the long run. The interest is there, just that we need to change their mindset that this is the right thing to do,” Vimala said.
The manufacturing sector's absolute contribution to the gross domestic product for the first to the third quarters in 2018 was recorded at RM209.7 billion, with a total export value of RM756.78 billion recorded between January to November 2018.
In October 2018, the government launched Industry4WRD as the national policy for IR4.0 with the objective of transforming the manufacturing industry and its related services to be smart, systematic and resilient.
In order to encourage local SMEs to adapt to IR4.0, MITI is conducting an online readiness assessment for SMEs.
“Under the 2019 Budget, the government had allocated RM15 million to support 500 SMEs from the manufacturing and manufacturing-related sectors to undertake the Industry4WRD readiness assessment.
“We hope, by year-end, we can produce 60 smart manufacturing factories. The number might be small, but it is a step forward,” Vimala said.
Companies which have undergone Industry4WRD readiness assessment will receive a report detailing its readiness and recommendation to migrate to IR4.0.
Those who migrate can apply to tap funding from the Intervention Fund, Domestic Investment Strategic Fund and High Impact Fund.
Interested companies can now surf http://www.miti.gov.my/industry4wrd for details. — Bernama
