KUCHING: The government will explore and initiate all the possible ways to facilitate the emulation of elements of Industry 4.0 in the current system especially for the Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI), Datuk Chua Tee Yong said that many industry players in developed countries have moved into the Industry 4.0 sphere, utilising the cyber-physical system holistically ahead of Malaysia.
He said that industries in countries like Germany, United States and to a large extent Japan, are the ones driving this initiative with minimal government intervention. “The role of the government is more of an enabler for Industry 4.0 transformation to be realised and the government’s aim at this juncture is to ensure that its intervention is done holistically.
This can be seen via government’s initiative through the expansion of the scope of funds under various agencies, whereby manufacturers will be incentivised to diversify into frontier products which will allow the manufacturers to enhance their productivity level including venturing into the elements of Industry 4.0,” said Chua in his speech when officiating the Outreach Programme on Industry 4.0 at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here yesterday.
Chua noted that Industry 4.0 is a must for industries going forward as there has been many forums both domestic and international emphasizing the need for firms to go digital. He said new technologies arising from Industry 4.0 can be overwhelming for those who are unfamiliar.
“I am sure in today’s programme you will hear directly from technical experts how to go about maneuvering the use of technology,” said Chua, adding this would be particularly useful for our SMEs in the journey to adopt Industry 4.0. He also pointed that the government have designed a specific incentive to push the local industries towards the direction of Industry 4.0 in the 2018 Budget announcement.
“Among others are the RM245 million matching grant under t h e Dome s t i c I n v e s tme n t Strategic Fund (DISF) to upgrade Smart Manufacturing facilities, Accelerated Capital Allowance and Automation Equipment Allowance on the first RM10 million qualifying capital expenditure incurred in the year of assessment 2018 to 2020, Capital Allowance Incentive for ICT equipment beginning 2018 to 2020, as well as RM1 billion loan with 70 percent guaranteed by the government for SMEs to automate,” he added. Meanwhile, Assistant Minister for Industrial Development, Malcolm Mussen Lamoh said that ideally, Industry 4.0 can be driven by the industry on their own with minimal government intervention required.
“Industry 4.0 will also bring about job displacement because of the high degree of technology and automation adoption.
“Besides retaining displaced workers we also need to prepare the skills set needed to operate in a highly technologically driven environment, in short, human capital development is important element in the adaptation of Industry 4.0,” said Malcolm. The Outreach Programme on Industry 4.0 is a collaboration between MITI and SME Corp. Malaysia.
The programme featured distinguished speakers from MITI, Penang Skills Development Centre (PSDC) and also MIMOS that have backgrounds and vast experience on Industry 4.0 was design to prep, highlight and disseminate useful information on Industry 4.0 that are able to make some substantial changes to the SME industry.
