The Malaysian government has on Friday presented offer letters to Oppstar Technology Sdn. Bhd. and Alphaswift Industries Sdn. Bhd. to obtain access to Arm Compute Subsystem (CSS) technology and the Arm Flexible Access (AFA) program under the Strategic Collaboration between the Malaysian Government and Arm Limited.
Access to Arm’s computing technology will enable local companies to accelerate integrated circuit design, research and development activities in Malaysia, including in drones and advanced microelectronics, the Ministry of Economy said in a statement.
Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said that eight Arm technology access awards, comprising four Arm CSS and four Arm Flexible Access tokens, had so far been offered to five local companies.
On talent development, he said 1,530 participants had undertaken the Arm OnDemand Training program, against a target of developing 10,000 talents over four years.
“We want access to this global technology to serve as a catalyst for more chip designs, intellectual property and high-value products to be developed in Malaysia.
“This is the foundation for producing local companies and engineers capable of bringing Malaysian chip products to global markets,” he said.
The collaboration with Arm is part of Malaysia’s efforts to move beyond its traditional strengths in chip assembly, packaging and testing towards higher-value activities such as chip design and research into advanced technologies.
To strengthen the talent pipeline, a joint agreement involving 12 universities, with support from ministries, agencies and industry, has been reached to facilitate a more structured implementation of the Arm OnDemand Training program.
“Synergy between universities and industry is important to ensure that the training provided truly matches the needs of companies,
“This includes aligning academic calendars, integrating Arm modules into learning programs and recognizing them as part of industrial training,” he said.
He also said Malaysia needs to move from chasing talent shortages to building a structured talent pipeline.
“Talent must be developed before industry demand becomes critical. The Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) and the Ministry of Higher Education will work together to ensure smooth implementation and achieve the targets that have been set,” he added.
According to the statement, the initiative is in line with the direction of the 13th Malaysia Plan (RMK13), National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS) and New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030) to strengthen Malaysia’s position in the global semiconductor value chain and build a more competitive local technology ecosystem.
The government also welcomed more qualified local technology companies with product development and chip design capabilities to take advantage of opportunities under the strategic collaboration.
Broader participation from local industry will be important to accelerate the development of “Made by Malaysia” technology and intellectual property, while strengthening the country’s position in the global semiconductor ecosystem, said the statement.
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