Malaysia, Singapore expected to become global hi-tech hubs

Kuala Lumpur – The Malaysia-Singapore Special Economic Zone and the proposed Johor-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) that will be finalised by both countries can have a positive impact on the relationship between the two neighbours, said economic analyst Dr. Oh Ei Sun.

If Malaysia and Singapore could cooperate in advanced fields, such as artificial intelligence (AI), it would make both countries centres of high technology development in Southeast Asia, Oh said.

According to him, both countries are able to attract investments in the computer and chip industry in addition to having a mature workforce.

He hoped that the details of the Malaysia-Singapore special economic zone would be one of the focuses at the 11th Malaysia-Singapore Leaders’ Retreat later this year.

The implementation of Malaysia’s Hydrogen Economy and Technology Roadmap (HETR) is expected to generate income of up to 12.1 billion MYR (2.5 billion USD), with an estimated contribution of between 49-61 billion MYR to the country’s Gross Domestic Product by 2030, according to Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Chang Lih Kang.

In an effort to capture logistics demand due to changes in global supply chains, Malaysia is planning to build a new container port along the west coast of the Malay Peninsula facing the Strait of Malacca, which was one of the busiest sea route in the world.