Malaysia unveiled its latest economic road map to climb the global value chain on Thursday as it aims to produce premium tech products such as semiconductors and tap into artificial intelligence (AI) in its push for developed nation status by 2030.
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The “Made by Malaysia” aspiration is central to the 13th Malaysia Plan, the country’s five-year development blueprint for 2026 to 2030, and marks a strategic shift from its traditional role as a low-cost manufacturing hub.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the plan would position Malaysia to lead Southeast Asia in AI, digital technology and green energy by developing locally designed, world-class products and services.
“Malaysia needs to move from being just a consumer, to a technology leader and producer of world-class ‘Made by Malaysia’ products and services,” Anwar said in parliament.
The concept was first floated in January by then-economy minister Rafizi Ramli, in the context of developing local semiconductor chips and graphics processing units. It signals a shift from Malaysia’s traditional role as a chip assembler towards designing and producing high-value, locally developed products as it aims to become a key player across the full spectrum of the global semiconductor sector.
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Anwar said that while Malaysia was proud of its position as the world’s sixth-largest exporter of semiconductors, amounting to over 600 billion ringgit (US$141 billion) in 2024, it must now move further up the value chain.