Sabah can go far in Industry 4.0 – Musa
KOTA KINABALU: With the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) on the horizon, Sabah can go as far as it wants to benefit fully from the paradigm shift.
Digital transformation has changed society and the way we work, study and do business due to its speed, scope and broad global impact. This development is impacting production, management and governance systems including in Malaysia, said Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman.
“Today, Industry 4.0 is upon us and this is one advancement that we all need to embrace. We in Sabah can go as far as we want to go, which is why it is important for us now to go one step ahead from digitalisation, through collaborative efforts,” he added.
Musa said this in his opening address at the Fourth Industrial Revolution Conference (4IRC): ‘The Future of Work and Implications for Managers,’ co-organised by Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Sabah and Persatuan Pedagang dan Pengusaha Melayu Malaysia (Perdasama) Sabah.
His speech was delivered by Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Jainab Ahmad Ayid.
Musa went on to say the government had taken the lead to update its own processes, which acknowledged the benefits of this latest revolution with constant improvements being made to the e-government system that was introduced to serve the people in a productive and efficient way. Most government services are now available online.
“As Malaysia grows its human resource capabilities to meet this new revolution, we expect the country will see new heights in its economic growth, bringing with it a better quality of life for all.
“We must also strive to ensure that the digital gap is minimised and that access is provided to everyone to participate fully and in a meaningful way in gaining from the digital revolution.
“At the same time, the education sector needs to build the right ecosystem for the growth of the digital economy, including producing a talent pool of ecommerce entrepreneurs,” he said.
In a press conference with the local media, Jainab commended UiTM Sabah and Perdasama for their efforts in working together to transfer knowledge to benefit both parties.
“We want to be at the forefront. We want 60,000 high-income jobs and we don’t want Sabah to be left behind, because Sabahans are equally enterprising and hardworking, but maybe we don’t have enough exposure. This is where programmes and integration efforts like this come in.
“Cooperative relationships between universities and industry players will prepare our children so they are well equipped not only with knowledge but also soft skills when they enter the workforce.
“We don’t want to be giving jobs to outsiders when we can create jobs for our people first,” she said.
Jainab added that youths, on the other hand, must be willing to take up the challenge in order to be more competitive and marketable.
“A lot of our youngsters are saying there are no jobs for Sabahans, but they must be able to adapt to the digital economy and embrace 4D jobs - discipline, difficult, dangerous and dirty.
“I think our youths are capable of taking up this challenge, but maybe they do not feel comfortable stepping out of their comfort zone because we coddle them.
“We should be opening their minds, encouraging them to roam and move about to gain more experience.
“Similarly, the government must also evolve. As we go along, we need to be more tech savvy and move with the times. The only way to do that is to learn new things,” she said.
Meanwhile, UiTM Sabah rector Associate Professor Datuk Dr Abdul Kadir Rosline said universities also needed to align themselves with Industry 4.0 by collaborating with industry partners to provide students with holistic education.
“It’s important for universities to work closely with the industry to understand what it needs. This is the university becoming truly part of the community, especially in this context, commercial communities.
“Academics are to gain from real world situations and practitioners. We don’t want to go back to the university and teach students something not proven. We also need to learn from the industry,” he said.