Malaysia unveils national semiconductor strategy to strengthen Xinhua sector

Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 11, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)

KUALA LUMPUR, May 29 (Xinhua) — Malaysia on Tuesday unveiled its national semiconductor strategy (NSS), which aims to boost the sector in the country, attract high-value investments and expand cooperation with international partners.

The key assumption of the strategy is to build cooperation within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) group, as well as international enterprises, democratizing the spread of technology.

“Ultimately, NSS is a means for Malaysia to develop and democratize technology for the benefit of all humanity,” he said in a special speech at the Semicon Southeast Asia 2024 exhibition, which aims to accelerate Malaysia’s transformation into a semiconductor powerhouse and regional manufacturing hub.

The NSS strategy will be implemented in three phases: the first will focus on Malaysia leveraging existing industry capacity to modernize outsourced assembly and testing with advanced packaging.

The second phase is focused on enhancing capabilities in cutting-edge logic and memory design, manufacturing, testing and chip buyer integration, and the final phase is on supporting the development of Malaysian companies in semiconductor design, advanced packaging and manufacturing equipment.

“To remain flexible and agile, the NSS will be a living document, evolving as needed, but we remain committed to positioning Malaysia as a major global player in technology accessible to all, driven by our semiconductor industry,” he said.

Anwar also said the government would commit 25 billion ringgit ($5.3 billion) to support this strategy and to train and upskill 60,000 highly skilled Malaysian engineers.■