Malaysia has potential to be Southeast Asia’s tech innovation hub - Fadillah

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has the potential to become a hub for technological innovation in Southeast Asia, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.

He emphasised that achieving this goal requires collaboration between the government, private and academic sectors, to create an ecosystem that nurtures innovation at every level.

“What we need now are engineers who can not only design and build structures but also find solutions to problems not just in our country, but globally.

“With solutions generated through research, we can provide answers to the challenges faced by the world in various sectors, including construction and engineering.

“Now, as we move towards green energy and environmentally friendly solutions, we need engineers to maintain environmental sustainability, and this requires the input and expertise of engineers,“ he said after opening the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) Convention 2024 here today.

In his speech, Fadillah said that investing in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education is essential to ensure that young minds are prepared and inspired to tackle the challenges of tomorrow.

He said the educational institutions must be equipped to provide the next generation of engineers with the skills, knowledge, and creativity needed to excel in an ever-evolving global landscape.

“With over 200,000 engineers and engineering technologists registered with BEM, and an additional average of 15,000 new registrations annually, this pool represents a readily available resource to meet the growing demand for engineering work.

“However, to maintain this steady influx of registrations, ongoing efforts are essential to encourage more students to pursue engineering courses and careers,“ he said.

Fadillah also called for a shift towards fostering a culture of creativity and entrepreneurship to empower engineers as this will enable the development of solutions that are both locally relevant and globally competitive.

Earlier, Fadillah witnessed the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between nine higher learning institutions (IPT) and BEM.

The MoU aimed to streamline the process for engineering graduates from local universities to register with BEM before their graduation, preparing them for employment in engineering fields.

The IPTs are Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM), International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Universiti Selangor (UNISEL), MAHSA University, Taylor’s University, SEGi College and Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak.