NANOTECH PLAN TO CREATE 33,000 JOBS
PM says national plan to boost smart agriculture, renewable energy, halal industry and medical technology
THE National Nanotechnology and Products Roadmap 2021-2025 should be applied to various industries. This, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said, was in line with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, especially in smart agriculture, renewable energy, halal industry and medical technology.
“The development of nanotechnology products such as vaccines, cancer therapy drugs, medical devices, sensor technology, nano fertilisers, biomass, solar panels, as well as sweeteners and flavourings in halal products, which are in demand in the global market, will boost the economy,” he said after chairing the National Science Council (NSC) meeting on Friday.
He said within five years, the roadmap would provide many socio-economic benefits to the country, including creating 33,391 jobs.
“The jobs involve 5,968 highly skilled workers, 24,755 semiskilled workers and 2,668 unskilled workers. The industry is expected to contribute RM151.5 billion to the gross domestic product within five years.”
He said the first NSC meeting for this year also discussed the supply (human capital) and demand (job market) in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sector, which needed solutions to boost the competitiveness of the country’s science, technology and innovation (STI).
“The government takes it seriously that there are only 47 per cent of students in STEM and 19 per cent in pure science.”
He said students’ interest in STEM needed to be enhanced and the Education Ministry had been instructed to lead the STEM Roadmap.
Ismail Sabri said the meeting also discussed promoting STI at the community level through Malaysia Social Innovation.
“The effort by the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti) is an excellent step to empower innovation at the grassroots level.
“The initiative will allow an inclusive distribution of the economy to all income levels, especially the Bottom 40 and Middle 40 groups, by focusing on the application of local technology at the grassroots level.”
He said the government, through the establishment of the National Technology and Innovation Sandbox (NTIS), had boosted the commercialisation of local innovative products based on the country’s socio-economic sustainability.
“The meeting had agreed to improve the governance structure of the NTIS initiative through three measures.
“Firstly, the NTIS Task Force Committee was renamed NTIS Steering Committee.
“Secondly, the NTIS Council was abolished and related matters would be reported to the NSC. NTIS will be made a regular agenda in NSC meetings to reduce redundancy with the existing council, as the NSC is also chaired by the prime minister.
“Thirdly, a new NTIS Task Force Committee will be created and chaired by Mosti’s secretarygeneral.”
Ismail Sabri said the meeting also noted the link between human health and nature, biodiversity and climate change.
“Covid-19, which is a zoonotic disease, has resulted in 6.11 million deaths worldwide.
“(And) there are other zoonotic diseases such as dengue and Zika which are also caused by the increasingly endangered natural conditions.
“Therefore, to ensure Malaysia is one step ahead in addressing these issues holistically, the meeting had agreed that Mosti, through the Academy of Sciences Malaysia with the cooperation of all stakeholders, formulate the National Planet Health Action Plan.”