PUTRAJAYA, May 31 — The Higher Education Ministry (MOHE) will take a proactive stance to meet the workforce demands of incoming investments, following Malaysia’s emergence as a global semiconductor hub.

Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir said the ministry had discussed the target with several other ministries, namely the Human Resources Ministry, the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti), and the Economy Ministry.

"The objective of the discussion was to ensure detailed planning for the exact amount of workforce demand needed particularly in the electrical and electronics (E&E) semiconductor industry.

"Also in terms of other investments that come to Malaysia because, as we know, foreign direct investment (FDI) is currently booming in our country,” he said during a press conference at the MOHE headquarters today.

In April, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim introduced Malaysia’s National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS), spearheaded by Miti.

Anwar announced that one of the targets of the NSS was to establish at least 10 Malaysian companies in the design and advanced packaging, with revenues between RM1 billion and RM4.7 billion, and at least 100 semiconductor-related companies with revenues close to RM1 billion.

The Finance Ministry had said that the target would position Malaysia as a global research and development (R&D) hub for semiconductors, featuring world-class universities, corporate R&D, and centres of excellence.