Backed by the U.S. Department of State and launched in December 2010, the GIST program is one of the primary initiatives to be implemented following the proposals announced by President Barack Obama in Cairo in June 2009, which aim to advance innovative scientific, academic and technological collaboration between the U.S. and nations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and Muslim Asia.
In the Ambassador’s address, he touched on various science and technology issues, drawing on his experience as the former Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, as well as from his work in the private sector and academia. He also highlighted Malaysia’s efforts to transform from a resource-led to an innovation-led economy.
| ‘COME TO MALAYSIA NOT JUST BECAUSE OF OUR REASONABLY PRICED LABOR, BUT ALSO OUR TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT – OUR KNOWLEDGE INPUT’ |
“We are entering a new era and economic model,” says Dr. Jamaluddin. “The Prime Minister is saying we are looking towards developing an innovation economy. So, human resources become very important.”
Consequently, increased education levels in Malaysia are now a priority. “We would like high-end industry to come over, and that is where the scaling up of education becomes important,” says the Ambassador. “We want investors to come to Malaysia not just because of our reasonably priced labor, but because of our technology and development input – that is our knowledge input as well as our labor input.”
Dr. Jamaluddin believes that U.S. investors would be wise to look East beyond just China and India, and see Malaysia as an ideal launching pad into the wider ASEAN region.
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