Robust productivity initiatives equip Malaysia to face Industry 4.0
PUTRAJAYA: Robust productivity initiatives will equip Malaysians to face Industry 4.0, said Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC) Chairman, Tan Sri Azman Hashim.
He said Malaysia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth which was driven by labour productivity of 3.5 per cent in 2016, indicated economic growth is gradually moving away from being labor intensive, towards the digital and technology-driven factors.
“This is the intended pattern for a productivity-driven economy, whereby productivity is the key factor to breach frontiers towards Industry 4.0. Productivity initiatives will equip our citizens to face a new era of industrial is at ion ,” he said at the opening of the International Forum on Productivity yesterday.
To further accelerate and sustain the country’s productivity, Azman said dynamic and purposeful strategies must be employed to monitor and evaluate the progress of various productivity-linked initiatives across ministries, agencies and industry players.
“Productivity initiatives have to evolve into a day-to-day consciousness and culture to achieve the desired results.
“This calls for the importance of greater collaboration among various stakeholders to achieve the common objective of higher productivity for an improvement in the well-being of our citizens,” he added.
Azman said the government had undertaken the initiatives to launch the Malaysia Productivity Blueprint (MPB) with an objective of achieving the 3.7 per cent productivity growth target set in the 11th Malaysia Plan (20162020).
“The blue print presents a holistic approach towards unlocking the potential of productivity of the nation by addressing productivity challenges at national, sectoral and enterprise levels,” he said.
Meanwhile, the one-day forum drew 300 participants comprising industry representatives, trade associations, government officials and academicians. It was themed, “Challenging the Frontier, Empowering People”.
A series of knowledge sharing sessions were arranged featuring 14 productivity experts from the United States, Taiwan, Germany, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia.
The forum was aimed at providing opportunities for all stakeholders with global perspectives to share experiences in addressing policy challenges for higher productivity growth and discuss the implementation of productivity-enhancing programmes.