The Board of Directors (Board) of the Malaysian ResearchAccelerator for Technology and Innovation (MRANTI) has on Monday announced the resignation of Dzuleira Abu Bakar as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
MRANTI said in a statement that Dzuleira has decided to pursue other career opportunities although her contract was renewed early this year.
It noted that Dzuleira will continue to serve at MRANTI until early September.
Dzuleira was first appointed the CEO of Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Center (MaGIC) and subsequently appointed the CEO of Technology Park Malaysia (TPM) to lead the merger of MaGIC and TPM, which resulted in the incorporation of MRANTI.
This was part of the government’s larger efforts to restructure and consolidate its agencies to ensure that they are well positioned to execute the National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (DSTIN) and the Malaysian Science Technology Innovation and Economic Development Framework (MySTIE 10-10).
The MRANTI Board of Directors said they recognizes Dzuleira’s dedication, outstanding leadership and invaluable contribution over the years.
They said that during this time, she has effectively raised the visibility and value of Malaysian technology and innovation by addressing societal and sectoral issues locally and globally.
They said that within several months of taking office, Dzuleira spearheaded the launch of the MRANTI Park Master Plan – an integrated and comprehensive approach to develop a Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) hub from prime real-estate.
The MasterPlan aims to achieve a gross development value of MYR 20 billion ($4.32 billion), MYR 2.8 billion ($610 million) in land lease, as well as create 8,000 jobs by 2027.
To date MRANTI Park has secured MYR 1.12 billion ($240 million) in land lease value and a total of 132.56 acres for new land sub-lease, an increase of 250 percent and 112 percent respectively since her entry.
Under her leadership, Dzuleira also founded several facilities within the Park to support innovators at various stages of the life cycle.
This includes a 5,000 square feet MakersLab for prototyping, a 5-acre drone centre of excellence, an Autonomous Vehicle Living Lab for live environment testing, 10-acre integrated healthcare cluster and 5G Experience Centre which serves as a national testbed for 5G innovation and enterprise-grade proof of concepts.
It is also noted that Dzuleira is a strong advocate in Malaysia’s drone tech ecosystem.
MRANTI through MOSTI is the lead coordinating agency for the Malaysian Drone Technology Action Plan 2022-2030 (MDTAP30), a national initiative to support the drone ecosystem.
Malaysia’s drone industry is ranked 21st in the global Drone Readiness Index, up from the 30th spot and ranking higher
than the rest of the region.
This puts the drone industry in Malaysia on a clear growth trajectory with the potential to contribute MYR 50.71 billion ($10.97 billion) to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and create 100,000 job opportunities by 2030.
This an early outcome of the MDTAP30 and other initiatives which involve strong collaboration by multiple agencies and stakeholders.
During her tenure, MRANTI was appointed as lead secretariat for the National Technology and Innovation Sandbox (NTIS), leading to 24 commercializations, generating MYR 51.8 million ($11.2 million) in sales revenue.
MRANTI was also tasked to run key national programs such as Program Penggunaan Barangan dan Perkhidmatan Hasil R&D Tempatan Melalui Perolehan Kerajaan (MySTI), Malaysia Commercialisation Year Summit 2023 and Malaysia Techlympics 2022.
“Having established the core pillars of talent, infrastructure, operational systems and processes as well as our strategic plan, I believe MRANTI can now advance in creating new socio-economic value through the commercialisation of research and development (R&D), which will strengthen the country’s trajectory to become a high-income, high technology nation,
“I am committed to ensuring a seamless transition before my departure and to ensure the track is well-laid for MRANTI’s continued contribution and growth,” said Dzuleira.
In the meantime, a management committee will be activated as part of the transition plan to oversee the agency’s operations during the process of appointing a new CEO.
Programs and projects in MRANTI’s pipeline will progress as planned, with the respective management team heads ensuring their successful implementation.
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