SPEECH TEXT BY

 

YAB DATO’ SERI ANWAR IBRAHIM

PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA

 

 

AT

 

X-FAB SARAWAK 40K FAB

EXPANSION LAUNCH CEREMONY

 

 

 

 

12^th SEPTEMBER 2025 (FRIDAY) | 10.00 AM

SAMAJAYA HIGH-TECH PARK, KUCHING, MALAYSIA

 

 

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh dan Salam Sejahtera

Saudara saya Yang Amat Berhormat Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari bin Tun Datuk Abang Haji Openg,

Premier Sarawak;

Yang Berhormat Datuk Amar Haji Awang Tengah Ali Hasan,

Timbalan Premier Sarawak, Menteri Sumber Asli dan Pembangunan Bandar Kedua, Menteri Perdagangan Antarabangsa, Industri dan Pelabuhan Sarawak;

Yang Berhormat Datuk Amar Prof. Dr. Sim Kui Kian,

Timbalan Premier Sarawak, Menteri Kesihatan Awam, Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan Sarawak;

Yang Berusaha Mr. Rudi De Winter,

Group Chief Executive Officer of X-FAB;

Yang Berhormat Datuk Amar Haji Mohamad Abu Bakar bin Marzuki,

Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri Sarawak;

Dan Rakan-Rakan yang saya muliakan.

1. Saya ucap tahniah. Hari ini membanggakan kita kerana kita lihat keupayaan kita melakar satu strategi dan pelaksanaan silicon wafer fabrication di tahap yang tinggi. Ini bukan lagi apa yang disebut sebagai manufacturing ataupun yang dikatakan back-end. Kita lihat umpamanya kejayaan Sarawak melalui X-FAB Sarawak 40K Expansion. Mengangkat keupayaan kita dibidang hi-tech. Di bidang apa yang disebut front-end dalam teknologi ini. Dan kita tidak lagi terikat dari segi semikonduktor.

 

2. Kejayaan seperti kita tahu di Pulau Pinang atau Kulim Hi-Tech atau dengan Infineonnya dengan Google dan Microsoft di Lembah Klang ataupun di Negeri Sembilan, Melaka kemudian NVIDIA umpamanya besar di Johor. Tetapi kita lihat umpamanya kejayaan X-FAB satu tingkat yang sangat membanggakan di Negeri Sarawak. Saya salute dan tahniah kepada rakan-rakan semua.

3. Now, we naturally can be rightly delighted and excited for being able to achieve what is unsurmountable issues, problems and development which seems to be rather difficult or impossible to achieve decades earlier. Now, for the benefit of future generations, we have here with the vision of our past leaders the first silicon and then mixed-signals CMOS for example I think around year 2000 2001, and then year 2006 you ventured into this silicon with X-FAB Silicon Foundries and now have established as an impressive formidable and internationally renowned recognized X-FAB Centre in Sarawak. And that’s why I become, I join you in this excitement in this celebration for the success that you have achieved through hard work, through great vision and throught getting the infrastructure right. Thank you again.

4. But as you know, X-FAB subsequently increased investments in R&D and this is precisely very important, very competitive as alluded to by Premier Abang Jo just now. We want to be the semiconductor hub. For now yes, Malaysia is now a semiconductor hub for the region and we are succesful because firstly the infrastructure is in place, but beyond that is also the supply side, supply chain and the ecosystem.

5. The ecosystem referred to earlier means the right workforce and this is a major challenge. We meet X-FAB, some leading semiconductor industry. They always say yes, we have a very disciplined workforce but we have to continue with the synergy between this industry and the universities in particular to ensure that the universities undertake this depature from a traditional academic training to be able to utulize the experience and the expertise of these industries.

6. We have seen for example AI faculties being set up. I’ve push this agenda forward very fast because whilst we have expertise in universities, it has to collaborate with the synergy from the practical experience of the industries because the industry would precisely know what you require in this sort of disciplines to be trained and then to be absorbed by the industries. And now this is of course a clear government policy, both federal government and states. And we have to thrive in the competitive global semiconductor market and to me stronger and strong customer demand for X-FAB for example cutting edge technology.

7. And I’m appreciative of the fact that the confidence shown to the country, Malaysia, and in particular to Sarawak, that RM3 billion ringgit just for this facility for expansion because of your confidence, trust and the performance of the government under Premier Abang Jo. So, thank you very much again. Makes my life as Prime Minister very easy when you have government as progressive like this, because some we have to really push the agenda get the vision right, get it to be more efficient, approvals, the fast track basis, the incentives are attractive for investors.

8. These are challenging issues. But as you say, this investment, Tan Sri Hamid you know, is not just about capacity numbers. It is embedding automation and artificial intelligence for precision and innovation at every level. I’ve seen quite a number of these factories. I mean, coming to my, from my experience and exposure, the social sciences, it is like, it is really mind-boggling. It takes a lot of effort to understand what this damn AI and automation and fabrication is all about.

9. But again, it is about innovation, it is about precision. And I’m not talking about medical sciences Professor Dr Sim Kui Hian, so the challenge is real. So, although we talk about TVET being trained, but mind you, to be very frank with you, we of course produce engineers, but it is not adequate if there is no synergy between the universities and the industry.

10. I would request Mr Rudi De Winter for example, to also take time to visit these universities, talk to the faculty, look at their curriculum and the discipline, and give immediate suggestion what they lack, what they need to introduce. And if you are kind enough, one or two of your professionals, send them to give the initial training, exposure, and lecture. Pro bono, of course no charge. And we have tried that with the University of Science Malaysia, University Malaya, with some of the big companies. And it is, of course, of great benefit to the university and the professors because many of them are, you know, Malaysians and I believe like Sarawakians too, we are humble enough. The humility that is required to absorb new ideas, particularly this high-end technology that we need to acquire.

11. And I, therefore, would continue to give all the support. I mean Premier Abang Jo mentioned that what we need to do at the federal government level, of course, it has to be done because the National Semiconductor Strategy is formulated and crafted in a manner that accepts the fact that we have this enormous potential with Sarawak to emerge as a global leader in innovation and production. I’m not exaggerating, but given the geopolitical scenario now and the centrality of Malaysia and ASEAN engaging both United States, China, Europe, Asia, and now even Latin America and Africa, we are in the best position to be seen as stable, as central, as prepared to engage with all countries.

12. I mentioned Latin America and South Africa because next month, for example, the leading country in Latin America, Brazil, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, will join us in Kuala Lumpur, and President Cyril Ramaphosa, the leading country in South Africa, in Africa, also to be here other than, of course, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. Good luck to you all.

13. And, of course, Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister of Canada, and their presence here is not only to attend meetings but to see the enormous potential that we have. That’s why in some of these international forums, I make sure that the representative states, and I believe Premier will be invited to some of the economic sessions to present the Sarawak case. Because in conjunction with the ASEAN Summit, we will also promote the semiconductor strategy, competitive incentives to foreign firms and, of course, the best position to articulate this position on behalf of the country and Sarawak will be Premier Abang Jo. So, he will be the star in that show.

14. I don’t have that much expertise, you know, he’s more on bioengineering. I talk about philosophy and culture and economics, you ask me. And that’s how we work together as a team. So, in conjunction with the Summit, with all these known leaders, we have also a series of very important economic conferences and business conferences.

15. And we have therefore the opportunity to showcase what we do and how we can continue to attract investors to come here. And mind you, is no longer just manufacturing and getting workers at the lower level. We are now being more selective in the type of investments we attract. And it’s also more focused.

16. In the past I’ve always talked about Sarawak as the new energy hub for the region. And everywhere I go to, they talk about the capacity hydro and green hydrogen and of course the enormous potential to become a hub to supply energy not only to Peninsular Malaysia, to Singapore, to Sabah, to the Philippines and to Indonesia. And I have promoted that to Sarawak energy hub for the region, for ASEAN. And that strategy must be fully supported and endorsed by Sarawak by the national level. And I’m using the ASEAN framework too.

17. But now today I have to adjust a bit. You see, I’ve been talking only in terms of this renewed determination, focus, ambition on energy hub. And suddenly I realized with this X-FAB Sarawak 40k expansion that we have to include semiconductor now.

18. So that’s why we talk about a stable government, visionary leadership and effective redetermination, effective enforcement with the SUK and the whole team to ensure that approvals are given in a transparent with such a speed that will make us a showcase example for emerging economies to perform.

19. So let me again say how excited and proud I am as a Malaysian to join you in Sarawak to see this enormous success. And for Sarawak you’re not just talking about timber as you did in the last few decades, you’re now talking about energy, you’re talking about even in the medical field. I wouldn’t miss that.

20. That in terms of performance, can you imagine, sometimes I was, I sometimes a bit tough in my meetings. I said “how is it suddenly the performance and the high end capacity of General Hospital Kuching is number one in the country?”

21. You know, people is, is the discipline workforce in this efficient service is a clear will and determination again of focus and ambition. Things that you think is rather impossible but can be done by sheer determination and focus. And that’s my dream for this country.

22. And you know, for me to say that why we have to work hard, why it has to be stable, peaceful, why we have to have clear, clarity and policies? Because we have great example of our young force with discipline, hard work to show that this country Malaysia together and states like Sarawak, we can emerge as a great nation, economically, good governance and to be a showcase for many emerging countries in the world.

23. That is our joint determination. And I believe with the spirit of a Malaysia Day on the 16th, we see that the vision of our forefathers and mothers will be realized by this generation with a clear determination, focus and ambition. So it is great pleasure and pride I here join you in celebrating the success of X-FAB Sarawak.

Terima kasih. Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.