Mida says timely for E&E firms to access supply chain

KUALA LUMPUR: It is timely and critical for electrical and electronics (E&E) companies to assess and consider diversifying their supply chain, said the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida).

Mida chief executive officer Datuk Azman Mahmud further suggested that the companies leverage new opportunities in light of the changes in market demand following the Covid-19 pandemic.

He stressed that an assessment was necessary in the long run to improve operating models and mitigate future failures or disruptions through an effective contingency plan.

“We would like to encourage all E&E companies, particularly the small and medium enterprises, to take full advantage of the facilitation offered by the government and we look forward to having more E&E companies enhancing their operations in Malaysia, especially those that are well engaged in ‘lighthouse’ operations.

“Briefly, lighthouse is a concept of modelling companies that have embraced digital manufacturing and globalisation 4.0 in their business model and their entire supply chain,” he said.

He said this in a webinar titled, “E&E Industry Update Amidst Covid-19 Pandemic” organised by MIDA and Semicon South-east Asia yesterday.

According to Azman, Mida is targeting multinational corporations as well as big local companies to be the anchors in guiding the selected vendors into the new venture, given that the end-to-end value chain is increasingly being adopted globally.

“To date, Mida is engaging 17 companies from manufacturing and services sectors namely E&E, Chemical and Advanced Materials, Transport, Machinery and Metal, Food Technology and Green Technology to participate in the Lighthouse Programme.

“We would like to have more local companies be integrated into lighthouse operations by engaging in innovative and productive activities such as the adoption of automation and digitalisation of business processes,” he added.

He pointed out that government facilities such as accelerated capital allowances over a two-year period on machinery and equipment including information and communications technology, Industry 4.0 incentive, intervention fund, and high impact fund were already in place.

“Malaysia is well-positioned to weather the storm and emerge stronger from this pandemic and our country is resilient despite multiple changes faced by the global economy, due to its diversified economic structure,” he said.