KUALA LUMPUR (June 1): To realise Malaysia’s ambition to grow its digital economy, education is key, according to the British Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (BMCC) Chairman Abrar A Anwar.

Abrar, who is also Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Managing Director and CEO, said that Malaysia needs to provide more local educational opportunities in the country to both retain its talent, as well as provide those present in the country with the appropriate skill sets for what the country wishes to aspire.

In view of this, he added that in line with the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP), the Malaysian education sector is one key area where the UK has been contributing and continues to contribute.

“Education is the backbone of a nation, and the UK has got a lot of campuses here — invested in campuses to provide world-class education to the students of Malaysia and there are also a lot of students who travel to the UK for education. [Therefore], one area that the UK has been contributing and will continue to contribute and where it has got a competitive advantage is education. 

“What is the 12MP? It is digital Malaysia, high-end Malaysia. To get high-end Malaysia you need people, you need the right skilled people to take Malaysia to the next level.

"So from that perspective, developing the people of the future is what I think the UK can do [for Malaysia] and continues to do,” Abrar told The Edge in an interview on May 26.

Abrar noted that Malaysia has to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) to support its provision of local educational opportunities, as well as siphon skills and technology not currently available in the country.

“For that we need educational institutions, you need entities which give hands-on-training, and you need FDI of high-tech manufacturing or services, so that there is a technology transfer. 

“If you look at where Malaysia is looking for its opportunities in future, [look at] data centres, regional business centres, services and then manufacturing, high-tech manufacturing,” he added. 

However, Abrar highlighted that Malaysia has to both train its current labour force, as well as attract FDI to buoy this initiative to attract more investments in future. 

“For anybody that comes for investment, it's like chicken and egg, which comes first. Will the investment be brought if the skill sets and manpower are available, or do we keep manpower and then wait for them to train our manpower. It goes hand in hand, and therefore has to be in tandem,” he said, noting that the BMCC had given a presentation to the National Recovery Council (MPN) on the matter.

However, besides equipping Malaysia’s labour force with the correct skill set, Abrar also noted that Malaysia has to find a way to retain its talent and prevent them from leaving the country.

“At any point in time, I think 20,000 Malaysians will go to the UK to study, but are we able to bring them back?

"There is a global war on talent, it is not only local, it is a global war. Many countries need people, people can make the difference,” he said. 

Looking to our neighbours, Abrar said the competition for FDI is heated in ASEAN and noted that with the headwinds China currently faces, an opportunity has opened up to become an alternate major global supply chain player.

“If you look at ASEAN, all the countries are trying to get investments — Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia plus Singapore is also there. Who will get those investments?

“There is this space for opportunity, plus there is a supply chain disruption with China due to the lockdowns. Also people realise that these lockdowns can result in massive logistical disruptions. What is the alternative to China? Will there be a China plus one?” Abrar forwarded.

Abrar noted that the BMCC will continue to provide platforms for Malaysian and UK businesses to do trade and investments via the provision of business to business (B2B) and business to government (B2G) connectivity, to provide economic opportunities to both sides of the aisle.

Following the Covid-19 pandemic, Abrar noted that the BMCC is now more well-equipped in providing its services, as he noted that the chamber has learned to efficiently adapt and act as a platform of intermediation in a more deftly manner.

“But of course, Malaysia has this fundamental strength of remaining robust during this period with some advantages in the commodity space, plus very good performance in the export of electronics and electrical space. 

“So going forward, there will be competition for capital: see emerging markets, everyone is looking for capital; everyone is trying to sell and market their goods or bring tourists, whatever is a mainstay of each economy.

“So the way we want to remain relevant in the future is to ensure that we are able to provide the necessary services [to those] who are trying to enter Malaysia as investors, [or] doing trade, and also facilitate their face to face interaction to connect with the relevant stakeholders over in Malaysia,” he said.