Sama Jaya High Tech Park a boon for local economy

KUCHING: The development of Sama Jaya High Tech Park in Kuching has successfully created an electronics and electrical cluster in Sarawak.

Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said Sama Jaya had also created positive spinoffs for the local economy including employment of 10,400 school-leavers and graduates, adding that currently, 960 engineers were being employed and 99 per cent of the workforce locals.

He said total wages for the workforce at the park amounted to RM320 million annually, which flow back to the local economy.

“Total export from the High Tech park was valued at more than RM2.7 billion in 2016. It is RM2.3 billion in the first nine months of this year.

“Our business communities such as contractors and suppliers of equipment and machinery, transportation, logistics, catering, laundry, repairs and maintenance, have also benefited.”

Awang Tengah, who is also Minister of Industrial and Entrepreneur Development, said the state government had recently approved an investment worth RM1.2 billion from South Korea to produce copper foil used in batteries for smartphones and electric vehicles.

He said his Ministry would continue to have more aggressive promotions and direct engagements with investors to promote Sarawak as a preferred investment destination.

Our business communities such as contractors and suppliers of equipment and machinery, transportation, logistics, catering, laundry, repairs and maintenance, have also benefited.

“With our relatively small population, vast landmass and abundant natural resources, industrialisation is the way forward.

“The state needs to attract more high value and high tech industries to Sarawak.

“We cannot continue to rely on the low- cost, low-tech and labour-intensive strategy to drive our economic growth,” he said.

He believed the state’s industries must leverage on emerging technologies such as big data and analytics in order to move towards Industry 4.0, especially the manufacturing sector.

Many companies in Sama Jaya are well positioned to migrate to Manufacturing 4.0, and the government is committed to facilitate them, he added.

Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, Deputy Chief Minister

Awang Tengah (second right) holds up his ministerial winding-up speech during a photo call. Seen with him are Assistant Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Lee Kim Shin (right), Land and Survey Department director Zaidi Mahdi (second left) and...