09/08/2025

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SATURDAY | AUG 9, 2025

Asean must reframe economic strategy: Liew

MB: Affordable housing projects in Selangor are of quality

KUALA LUMPUR: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) needs to undertake a bold reframing of its economic strategy as the region navigates a complex polycrisis, said Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Liew Chin Tong. He said the region is no stranger to a changing world order, and it has to create a middle class to turn Asean into a consumer base, and not just a production base. “To have a strong middle class in Asean means that the world will have more than the current three large consumer markets: namely, the United States, Europe, and China. “This in turn would enhance Asean’s leverage over other regions,” he said in his keynote address at the Commemoration of the 58th Asean Day and the Seventh Asean Economic Integration Forum here yesterday. Citing historical context, Liew said Asean was formed to solidify the newfound peace between Malaysia and Indonesia and to avoid wars among member states in times of chaos. BATU KAWAN: Malaysia’s long-term success in the global semiconductor sector hinges on how effectively the country connects its knowledge base to real industry needs, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir said. He said this is how the country can build real capacity and strengthen its global position, in anticipation of 10,000 vacancies for integrated circuit (IC) design professionals and tens of thousands more skilled workers in the manufacturing sector, in the next five years. In 2024, the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry had highlighted that Malaysian universities are only producing about 5,000 engineers annually, he added. “Our future strength depends on how we connect education with industry to support this field,” Zambry said at the 32nd IEEE International Symposium on the Physical and Failure Analysis of Integrated Circuits 2025 on Thursday. The IEEE IPFA is an international forum for researchers, engineers, and industry experts focused on IC reliability and failure analysis. Zambry said Malaysia plays a vital role in the global semiconductor ecosystem, contributing more than 13% of global back-end capacity and exporting over RM200 billion annually. He emphasised that this is a strategic sector where countries around the world are competing to build capacity. The global semiconductor industry, projected to exceed US$1 trillion (RM4.23 trillion) by 2030, has become a geopolitical priority for many nations. In recent years, countries such as the United States, China, Taiwan and South Korea have ramped up investments to secure supply chains, advance chip design, and maintain technological leadership. Malaysia, as part of the global value chain, especially in back-end assembly, testing, and packaging, will benefit from moving up the value ladder through talent development, research collaboration and innovation-led Ű T.C. KHOR newsdesk@thesundaily.com

o Need to create middle class to turn region into consumer base, and not just production base

Ű BY HAYATUN RAZAK sunbiz@thesundaily.com

SHAH ALAM: The quality of Selangor’s affordable housing projects has improved, driven by healthy competition among developers, said Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari. Speaking to reporters at the key handover cere mony for the Idaman Bukit Jelutong condominium yesterday, he said that in the past, common issues included poor housing conditions, substandard walls and windows. “But this time, the specifications are high while the price remains below the national threshold,”he said. For example, he said, the Idaman homes come with wardrobes, television sets, refrigerators, air conditioning and two parking spaces. “I believe this is the only such high-specification affordable housing project in Malaysia.” Amirudin said Selangor’s affordable housing projects will maintain the RM250,000 price cap through a scale-driven partnerships. “We secure economies of scale through volume. Project partners are awarded several projects rather than just one to enable them to keep costs down.” With this approach, he said, the developers can maintain the price point while still earning a reasonable though not high margin, and providing complete specifications. Amirudin said the construction of Idaman Bukit Jelutong, including the certificate of completion and compliance and certificate of fitness applications, took about three years in total. “Although construction was completed five months ahead of schedule, the certification process requires some time. That is why, from the project’s start in August 2022 until now, August 2025, we just begun handing over keys.” Amirudin believes the remaining units can be completed as quickly as possible. The project is part of the 200,000 affordable homes targeted by 2028 in line with the RS-1 policy of the Selangor state government. “This initiative is progressing well. In the last term, between the state government and the private sector, 40,000 units were built, meeting our targets. Together with what we are doing now and what private companies will develop, I believe we can reach the 200,000-unit target by 2028,” Amirudin said. Next month, Selangor will launch another project in Sabak Bernam for Air Manis, he added. “Overall, we are responsible for delivering 39,733 units. With the completion of these 1,260 units, a total of 6,079 units have been finished and handed over, while 8,352 units are under construction.” Amirudin said eligibility for households earning up to RM14,500 monthly, covering the M40 and B40 groups. “We initially set the income limit at RM10,500 before increasing it to the current RM14,500.” Furthermore, the Rumah Idaman MBI will be expanded to more districts including Gombak, Klang, Kuala Selangor and Sabak Bernam, he said. “The initiative, which has already been realised in Kajang, Bandar Saujana Putra, and Dengkil, is now also available in Bukit Jelutong, Shah Alam,” he added. Idaman Bukit Jelutong was developed by Gagasan Nadi Cergas Bhd in partnership with Permodalan Negeri Selangor Bhd, which is a subsidiary of Menteri Besar Selangor Incor porated.

“We cannot afford to have hundreds of millions of people, both poor and old, which is a recipe for political and societal disaster,” he said. On climate change, he said the region is the most vulnerable and urged for courage, political will and financing to move fast enough to avert the crisis. He also said the Asean Power Grid is a great idea that needs financing and must improve equitability by bringing power to ordinary people who have never had access to energy. “Asean needs much more funding to create common goods, such as a secretariat that has more resources, capacity, and capability,” Liew said.– Bernama

“Asean knew very well in 1967, just as it knows now, that only in a peaceful region will member nations grow richer. “To maintain peace, Asean does not need the ‘security umbrella’ of any superpowers, but to build peace and prosperity among Asean member states,” said the deputy minister. Since the end of the Cold War and as the multiple conflicts in Indochina drew to a close in the 1990s, he said, Asean has grown by leaps and bounds economically, but the region has pursued an export-led industrialisation strategy that presupposed the US as the final destination for exports. He also said Asean must grow richer before it gets older and called for economic policies that are empathetic and inclusive.

‘Knowledge-industry link key to local semicon sector’s long-term success’

Zambry taking a closer look at an item during his visit to the new USM-Sandisk CiA Lab.

Intel Foundry Services in Oregon, the US, to access advanced chip design technologies. To address industry demand for upskilling, the ministry has introduced flexible learning pathways such as the APEL-based Master’s Programme in Advanced Semiconductor Packaging, endorsed by leading industry players including Intel and Micron. Zambry announced that the IC design apprenticeship programme, led by the Colla borative Microelectronic Design Excellence Centre in USM, is being scaled up to provide electronic design automation tools to universities nationwide, enabling shared learning and research capabilities. “We must prepare graduates who can meet industry needs with competence and leader ship. This responsibility must be carried together by our universities and supported through strong industry participation,“ he said. He added that the Higher Education Ministry would continue to support efforts that build skills and connect graduates to opportunities. “This focus is in line with the values of Malaysia Madani, where knowledge serves both progress and shared prosperity.”

manufacturing. To meet such capacity-building needs, Zambry said, Malaysia must position itself through strategic action and a strong national ecosystem and cited the National Semiconductor Strategic Plan as a roadmap to nurture 100 high-revenue semiconductor companies and build a robust talent pipeline to meet future demand. “To reach this vision, we must strengthen the human foundation. That foundation lies in our higher education institutions,” he said, adding that universities play a critical role in shaping industry-ready graduates. However, he noted that challenges remain as some graduates are still not placed in positions that match their training, while others pursue opportunities abroad. “These patterns show that we must strengthen the connection between education and real industry needs.” Zambry gave the example of collaboration between Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Com pany on IC design, while also partnering with