Corporation to open Centre of 9 Pillars hub in Sarawak
KUCHING: The Malaysian Technology Development Corporation ( MTDC) will open a Centre of 9 Pillars (Co9P) hub in Sarawak.
Its CEO Datuk Norhalim Yunus said it is part of the corporation’s efforts to be the strategic enabler of Industry 4.0 (i4.0).
He said the centre would house i4.0 partners and relevant ecosystem companies.
“The hub in Sarawak, hopefully to open in July 2019, will be another centre that will link up with all the other centres in Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in Johor Bahru, Penang, Sabah, and as part of efforts to promote the adoption of IR4.0 ( Industrial Revolution 4.0) in the state,” he told
The hub in Sarawak, hopefully to open in July 2019, will be another centre that will link up with all the other centres in Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in Johor Bahru, Penang, Sabah, and as part of efforts to promote the adoption of IR4.0 (Industrial Revolution 4.0) in the state. Datuk Norhalim Yunus, MTDC CEO
a press conference after launching the MTDC Road2Growth 2019 workshop yesterday.
He said the Co9P will collaborate with local agencies on i4.0 initiatives.
Norhalim said MTDC is working to nurture entrepreneurs to climb up the value chain by upgrading their capabilities in terms of technological innovation.
“To remain competitive in global markets, the country needs to have a strong and competent SMI (small and medium industry) sector, especially with the advent of i4.0.
“MTDC will collaborate with local agencies for the i4.0 initiatives via its Centre of 9 Pillars,” he said.
Road2Growth is a yearly programme to introduce MTDC’s role and programmes.
Norhalim added that SMI entrepreneurs tend to believe i4.0 is beyond them.
“For example, if I have a small company and you are talking about i4.0, this is something that I may think is not achievable or I may think it is expensive because I have to change my equipment and machinery, and I cannot afford it.
“We have to be realistic, not everything that we do needs high expenses and new equipment. If we have the existing machinery, work with a local technology company to upgrade the machines, no need to buy new ones; neither it needs a lot of money too,” he said.
Norhalim explained this may mean adding a sensor to the machines that can connect to the Internet of Things.
“Get the technology company to do it for you, so that you can monitor the machines,” he said.