By Danial Dzulkifly
SHAH ALAM, Jan 18 — Selangor and, by extension, Malaysia, stand out as a compelling choice for high-quality investments due to the prevailing political stability, amid a backdrop of global uncertainties, according to Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari.
He said the state and country are uniquely positioned to drive economic growth and generate impactful employment opportunities, drawing contrast to the current global reality where an unprecedented 4.2 billion people are expected to participate in elections across 76 countries this year.
This makes 2024 the largest election year in history, he noted.
“Just last week, Taiwan, a hotbed of microchips and semiconductors, elected its new government. Two days ago, the United States initiated its unofficial process, with most pollsters favouring former president Donald Trump as the Republican nominee.
“Similarly, Indonesia is poised to elect its new president next month, while elections are also scheduled in India, Russia, and the European Union later this year.
“Amidst this global uncertainty, I believe Selangor and Malaysia are in a privileged position to focus on working and delivering (results),” he said in his keynote address at the Selangor Digital School’s (SDS) AI Nusantara programme graduation ceremony at DoubleTree by Hilton Shah Alam i-City, here, today.
Amirudin said this involves harnessing the vast potential of emerging industries, with the aim to turbocharge the state and national economy to reach the top 30 in the world, in line with the Federal government’s target as outlined in the New Industrial Master Plan 2030.
In his speech, the Menteri Besar also stressed the Selangor government’s commitment to building a robust technological infrastructure in the state, especially in digitalisation and AI solutions, to support an advanced and highly-skilled workforce.
“When I presented the First Selangor Plan in August 2022, we emphasised technology and digital economy as key pillars to elevate Selangor’s position as the gateway to Asean.
“Since then, the management at SDS has actively worked to identify strategic partners to develop contemporary modules to provide young people in Selangor with improved knowledge and practical experience, preparing them for better and higher-paying jobs,” he said.
The AI Nusantara programme, a comprehensive one-month training and placement initiative, is done under the auspices of SDS and in collaboration with The Hive Southeast Asia,
It is designed to address the shortage of workforce in the field of AI, particularly in digital marketing and prompt engineering.
The first cohort of the programme saw the successful upskilling of 31 students from Universiti Selangor’s Bestari Jaya campus, with SDS aiming to nurture 600 talents this year.
