MORE efforts are needed to encourage students to take interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects.
Penang Chief Minister’s special investment adviser Datuk Seri Lee Kah Choon said these efforts are crucial for Malaysia to produce talents that are needed by the manufacturing industry.
“There is a serious shortage of university students enrolling in STEM courses.
“Tracing back to secondary education, parents prefer their children to take up courses or subjects which their children can ‘score’, and that may not be STEM courses.
“Hence, these students are not able to get into the engineering sector which requires talents,” he said during a meeting with the delegates from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) in Komtar today.
Earlier, Miti minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz paid a courtesy call on Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow at his office in Komtar.
Zafrul said he was aware of the challenges faced by Penang, namely, land, water, and talent issues.
Lee also touched on the need for more participation from the industry to grow Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) talents in Penang.
He also gave a strong presentation about Penang’s initiatives in attracting strategic investments to those present at the meeting.
“Many industry pillars are inter-related and are supported by the electronics sector.
“Medical technology (MedTech), medical devices, renewable energy (solar), and automotive, among others, are very much supported by the electronics sector.
“We have many opportunities to build different ‘pillars’ on the electronics foundation,” Lee said.
Lee added that building a strong ecosystem must be one of Malaysia’s top priorities for the country to move forward.
“Without the ecosystem, investments will come and go because whatever that we can offer the investors, others may be able to offer them too.
“Only with a matured ecosystem, can we attract and retain valuable investments in Malaysia,” he said.
Chow thanked the delegates for the fruitful meeting.
“There are several key takeaways from the meeting, and I hope that together, we can work on them,” he said.
Among those present were Penang State Secretary Datuk Mohd Sayuthi Bakar, Miti deputy minister Liew Chin Tong, Penang Entrepreneurial Development, Trade and Industry Committee chairman Datuk Abdul Halim Hussain, Zafrul’s political secretary Datuk Rizam Ismail, Chow’s political secretary Teh Lai Heng, Penang Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) deputy chief executive officer Sivasuriyamoorthy Sundara Raja, Penang Mida director Muhammad Ghaddaffi Sardar Mohamed, and InvestPenang chief executive officer Datuk Loo Lee Lian.
Story by Christopher Tan
Pix by Siew Chia En