KUCHING: Sarawak’s first Industrial Revolution (IR) 4.0 Prototyping Lab will be a stepping stone towards a high-income state by 2030.
Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said the establishment of the lab a testament to the realisation of the state’s digital economy strategy.
“The fact that SDEC’s IR4.0 Prototyping Lab is embedded within the TEGAS Digital Village, is a testament to the level of synergy and spirit of collaboration – between the government and Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC) and its ecosystem partners – that is needed to grow and develop Sarawak’s digital and innovation ecosystem.
“Through this lab, our local industries now have a central facility providing end-to-end IR4.0 adoption, which supports leapfrogging their businesses towards IR4.0 readiness, thus making them more competitive globally, and subsequently attracting foreign investment.
“Therefore, I hope that this initiative will spur us all to fully adopt the fourth Industrial Revolution,” he said in his speech read out by Utilities and Telecommunication Minister Datuk Julaihi Narawi at the IR4.0 Prototyping Lab Partnership launching ceremony at TEGAS Digital Village, Sama Jaya High Tech Park yesterday (June 13).
Abang Johari said the lab also served the industry in Sarawak by providing technology, experts and local capacity development programmes to nurture a comprehensive Industry 4.0 ecosystem.
On another note, he said that the pandemic had brought about the acceptance and adoption of digitalisation across almost all sectors.
“The development of catalytic initiatives under the Post COVID-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030 will further propel Sarawak towards a thriving society driven by data and innovation.”
These initiatives sought to empower digitalisation of the private economy sector and drive innovation through the development of Digital Testbeds and Living Labs, he added.
“Therefore, I am proud that SDEC is already leading the way with the inception of the 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) Testbeds at its Centre of Excellence (CoE).
“These are platforms for people from diverse backgrounds such as start-ups, entrepreneurs, university researchers and industry to find solutions to real-world problems,” said Abang Johari.
Julaihi officiated at the launch of the SDEC Prototyping Lab in collaboration with Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC) and its ecosystem partners namely, Akar Indah Engineering Sdn Bhd, T-Robot Sdn Bhd, and 3D GENS Sdn Bhd in the field of Industry 4.0, talent development, and technology adoption, which are in line with the PCDS 2030.
The event saw the exchange of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) between SDEC and the the companies.
There was also an exchange of exchange of memorandums of agreements (MoAs) between SDEC and seven universities namely, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, Curtin University Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Sarawak (UTS), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), University of Malaya, and National University of Singapore (NUS).
Areas of collaboration include research, innovation, and development of the digital economy.
