Salutations YB Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed
Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI)
Distinguished Guests
Members of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen,
A very good afternoon and welcome to MIDA Open Day 2017. Thank you all for taking the time to join us today. We are very honoured that YB Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of MITI is able to be with us here despite landing in KLIA just this morning from his visit to Japan with the Tengku Mahkota Kelantan.
It is great to have YB Dato‘ Sri amongst us, as your presence reflects your dedication in reaching out to the business community, the chambers and associations, the job seekers as well as the general public. I also want to welcome our colleagues and other viewers who are joining us today via our internet webcast – a virtual extension of this new meeting space.
Fifty years is an exciting milestone. It is not just an occasion to celebrate but an opportunity to look back and appreciate the foundation laid by our predecessors and a moment to look ahead at the mountains we have yet to climb. The programme lined up today serves to showcase MIDA’s signature role and functions in connecting with our stakeholders to create positive impact towards fulfilling the country’s aspirations in becoming a high income nation.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
MIDA was first set up to specialise in the promotion of industrialisation – mapping out the appropriate strategies, coordinate the activities of the relevant organisations in the public sector, and promote Malaysia to industrialists at home and abroad. Right from the beginning, MIDA was very aggressive in gearing itself up to promote the establishment of industries in Malaysia.
Today, as Malaysia moves towards the next level of development, MIDA continues to make the necessary changes and reengineer our internal processes to deliver more efficient and effective services. With 12 regional and 23 overseas offices consisting a staff strength of over 700 employees, MIDA remains dedicated to promote both foreign and domestic investments in Malaysia.
The emphasis now is on embracing the digital future, nurturing local businesses to become global champions through integrating into the international supply chain, as well as to create more skilled job opportunities for our talents.
Most of you may have noticed the Time Tunnel feature we have in our lobby. I encourage all of you to walk through the tunnel and understand the journey that MIDA has taken over the last 50 years and the milestones that we have achieved.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The main feature of our Open Day programme is the Career Fair. We initially capped the career fair participation at 40 companies due to the limited space available. However, due to overwhelming interest from companies, the MIDA team worked hard to provide allocations for the additional companies. Today, we are proud to feature a total of 57 companies for the Career Fair.
This includes notable local and foreign players from the aerospace, chemical, machinery & equipment, electrical & electronics and logistics & e-commerce industries. Leveraging on our close relationships with the industry and professional bodies, what we are doing today is to join forces with our corporate partners to meet the growing demand for quality job opportunities.
While the Career Fair is the main attraction for the general public today, we have also taken advantage of the strong participation of the companies to have some of them showcase their products and services. The Industry Exhibitions at our Business Information Centre (BIC) on Level 2 with companies such as Intel Malaysia, Petronas Chemicals Group Berhad, UMW, Romstar Group and CCM Pharmaceuticals serves to inform the public on the developments of the main industries that have contributed significantly to the country’s economic growth.
Later during the Minister’s tour, there will be a soft launch by ViTrox of their new Internet-of-Things software-based product known as V-One. It allows users to manage factories smarter and optimises factory resources across geographical location. Using V-One, the operator is provided with one suite of solutions that connect the inspection machines in production lines to monitor their performance remotely. There will be an interesting real-time demonstration of their product using the video wall at our BIC. I welcome our media friends to join us for this demonstration at Level 2 after this.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
MIDA places strong emphasis on being customer centric as well as doing things that add value. In the planning of our Open Day, we wanted to ensure that we optimise all our resources to provide the most benefit for all our stakeholders including the business community and potential investors.
Hence, we have business clinics running throughout the day at the meeting rooms on Level 18 with dedicated desk officers ready to provide a response to every enquiry or issues companies may have. The participating agencies include Telekom Malaysia (TM), Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), Department of Labour (JTK) and Royal Malaysian Customs Department (Customs). We take our handholding function seriously as we want to ensure investors obtains all necessary assistance required to run their operations successfully here.
We also have two business talks lined up today. The one held earlier was by TM on ‘TM Solutions Toward Industry 4.0’. There will be another one after this by Customs on the ‘GST Refund’. The talk will be held at 3pm on Level 18 in the Japan Room.
Running simultaneously with the earlier business talk was the Industry Talk held right here in this hall. With the topic, ‘The IoT Effect – Opportunities and Challenges’, I am confident that participants had an engaging time, especially with featured presentations by Intel, Infineon and ViTrox.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This is an exciting time for MIDA as we celebrate our 50
th anniversary. Prior to this Open Day, MIDA has undertaken many initiatives to intensify our engagements towards facilitating and promoting investments in Malaysia.
Starting with the MNCs & SMEs Supply Chain Development and Opportunities Conference last year in December at MITI, we have organised a series of supply chain conferences in Pahang, Penang and Johor, focusing on the respective state’s economic strengths. Meanwhile, the next supply chain conference will be in Sarawak.
MIDA have also conducted various related seminars and dialogue that are in line with the government’s efforts to accelerate industrial growth through the adoption of smart technologies. Notably, we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Rockwell Automation to groom local companies in increasing their competitiveness.
This year, we have established the SME Investment Desk in MIDA HQ and all our regional offices to reflect our commitment in enhancing the industrial supply chain of SMEs in Malaysia. We have also conducted public lectures in MIDA with Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar of Permodalan Nasional Berhad speaking on ‘Sustainable Transformation’ and Mr Hazmi Yusof of Frost & Sullivan speaking on ‘New Business Model and Disruptive Technologies Shaping Our Future’. These topics were timely, considering that we need to work towards changing our existing approaches to remain relevant and competitive.
As part of our 50
th Anniversary celebration, we have taken the opportunity to embark on a talent initiative with our manufacturing companies to provide job opportunities to youths who are homeless, underprivileged and unable to secure employment due to their predicament. For a start, we have managed to obtain the buy-in from QSR Brands, Coca-cola Bottlers and Yakult to participate in our new initiative ‘Talent CSR@MIDA’. A total of 216 job vacancies will be offered to youths in these categories. We would like to thank these companies for their compassion and valuable involvement through a simple appreciation ceremony after this. Going forward, we plan to work closely with other partners to implement this initiative successfully and benefit as many job seekers as possible.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
MIDA Open Day is really about experiencing what MIDA has to offer. Hence I encourage all of you to make the most of the programmes lined up and explore the platforms available for you to be part of Malaysia’s growth story. We at MIDA welcome all our stakeholders and stand ready to assist you with the support and facilities available to ensure the long term growth of your investments in the country.
On that note, do enjoy the rest of activities lined up today.
Thank you.
SOURCE : Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA)
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Name : Puan Masni Muhammad
Project Director for MIDA 50th Open Day 2017
Director of Oil & Gas and Maritime Technology Division
Tel : 03-2267 6786
Email : masni@mida.gov.my
--BERNAMA 
