Anika Begay
Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, Minister of International Trade and Industry of Malaysia, from left, Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, Chief Minister of the State of Kedah, Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia, Jochen Hanebeck, Chief Executive Officer of Infineon Technologies AG, and Rutger Wijburg, Chief Operating Officer of Infineon Technologies AG, during the company site inauguration of a new semiconductor complex in Kulim, Malaysia, Thursday, August 8, 2024.
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Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim touted his country’s attractiveness as a chip manufacturing hub during the opening ceremony of Infineon semiconductor manufacturing plant in Kulim district of Malaysia.
“Politically we are stable, the policies are clear, I mean the energy transition, industrial policy, a master plan and then also semiconductor policies,” he told Vscek’s JP Ong.
“This has helped generate more interest from investors,” Anwar said, adding that Infineon’s participation “significantly” demonstrated the company’s confidence in the country’s overall semiconductor ecosystem.
Asked whether Malaysia could generate enough talent to supply the growing sector, the prime minister assured that the country’s professionals and students have the capacity to do so.
“Our role in government is to facilitate the process, to make sure that we provide adequate funds for this purpose,” Anwar said.
Last September, Anwar said the government is trying to attract qualified Malaysians to return and contribute to the country. The country has the ambition to train and upskill 60,000 Malaysians to become highly skilled semiconductor engineers in the next decade.
