KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 14): Selangor is pushing to transform Malaysia’s role in the global economy by shifting from manufacturing products designed elsewhere to developing homegrown technologies and intellectual property, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said.
Speaking at the opening of the Selangor International Business Summit (SIBS) 2026 on Wednesday, Amirudin said the state was positioning itself as a hub for higher-value activities, including semiconductor chip design, advanced automation and green technology.
He said the ambition was to move beyond traditional manufacturing strengths and build an ecosystem driven by local expertise, innovation and engineering capabilities.
“Our transition is deliberate: we are shifting our trajectory from ‘Made in Malaysia’ to ‘Designed and Engineered by Malaysia’,” he said.
Amirudin said Selangor was seeking to attract investors who could contribute skilled talent, advanced technology and long-term partnerships, rather than compete primarily on low costs.
“If you are looking for cheap land or cheap labour, Selangor is not the place,” he said.
Amirudin said Malaysia had long been a major player in semiconductor packaging and testing, but Selangor wanted to move into more valuable segments of the industry, including front-end integrated circuit (IC) design, electronic design automation and intellectual property creation.
He pointed to the Malaysia Semiconductor IC Design Park in Puchong as an example of the state's efforts to build local chip design capabilities.
The initiative includes providing high-performance computing infrastructure, supporting technology development and training local engineers to design more sophisticated chips.
"We want the next generation of semiconductors powering global artificial intelligence to be conceived, developed, and brought to life in this state," he said.
Beyond semiconductors, Selangor is also steering its industrial base towards life sciences, green technology and advanced digital infrastructure.
Amirudin said the next decade would be crucial for the state to strengthen its position in Asia while helping local small and medium enterprises compete with regional players.
He also stressed that economic growth should translate into better wages and opportunities, rather than concentrating wealth among a small group.
"Selangor's main aim is to narrow the inequality gap; whether it is unequal salaries or unequal opportunities," he said.
SIBS 2026, which runs until Saturday, includes a dedicated artificial intelligence and semiconductor summit featuring more than 140 technology exhibitors, including Sandisk, Nexperia, Oppstar and SkyeChip.