By Shikin Louis and Chris Lidom
KUCHING, Oct 9: Twenty Sarawakian engineers specialised in the semiconductor industry have returned from overseas to complement the State’s goal of designing and manufacturing high-demand microchips.
Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg stated that the Sarawak government has set up Sarawak Microelectronics Design (SMD) Semiconductor, a company that specialises in designing and manufacturing microchips, to address the shortage of semiconductor professionals.
“We need a lot of engineers. We have recruited 20 Sarawakians, and they are coming back from overseas.
“We need another 30 engineers (to support) X-FAB Global Services in increasing their foundry output.
“These chips are used in cars, and they have to be adjusted because we are not using combustion anymore as fossil fuels will be replaced by fuel cells. The chips are also different; in one car, there are 150 chips.
“In other words, there is a need for this new chip throughout the world, and I am glad that Sarawak is the first to produce designers for the chip,” he said during the 4th instalment of Premier of Sarawak’s Industry Excellence Awards (PSIEA) 2023 held at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here tonight.
Abang Johari also mentioned that a lot of Sarawakians are coming back from overseas, and this was even reported by The Straits Times Singapore.
“They (The Straits Times Singapore) have a special article, and they did their own investigation that there are a lot of Sarawakians coming back to Sarawak.
“This is true. All our engineers are coming back.
“In Sarawak Metro Sdn Bhd, they were those who worked in Kuala Lumpur and came back,” he added.
Amongst those present were Deputy Premiers Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan and Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian; Deputy Sarawak Secretary Datu Dr Muhammad Abdullah Zaidel; Malaysian Productivity Corporation (MPC) chairman Datuk Kamaruzzaman Johari; Sarawak Business Federation (SBF) president Dato Sri Abang Abdul Karim Tun Openg; MPC director-general Zahid Ismail; and SME Association Sarawak chairman Jordan Ong who is the event’s co-organising chairman. — DayakDaily
