By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah
PETALING JAYA, June 25: Malaysia must move beyond being merely a manufacturing base for foreign companies and instead build home-grown brands, technologies and intellectual property if it is to remain competitive in an increasingly fragmented global economy, Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong said today.
Citing a collaboration between local lifestyle tea brand Tealive and dairy giant Dutch Lady as an example, Sim said the country should transition from a traditional “Made in Malaysia” model to a “Made by Malaysia” economic model, where greater value creation remains within the country.
For years, Malaysia attracted foreign investment by providing manufacturing capacity, while ownership of technology, branding, product design and intellectual property remained overseas.
The shift must go from ‘Made in Malaysia’ model to a ‘Made by Malaysia’ development model, he told reporters after launching Tealive and Dutch Lady’s new ready-to-drink dairy beverages at a mall here today.
Amid the intense competition regionally and globally as well as protectionism, tariffs, geopolitical tensions and rapid technological changes, Malaysian companies can no longer rely solely on manufacturing, but instead build their own competitive advantages by developing what he described as the 4Ts — talent, technology, things and trademarks.
“We must develop our own talent, our own technology, our own products and services, and our own trademarks,” he said.
Commenting on today’s event, he said the Tealive-Dutch Lady collaboration represented exactly the type of partnership, model that Malaysia should encourage, where the Malaysian company has built a successful brand while its partner brings decades of dairy expertise, manufacturing capabilities and international experience.
“Companies that invest in Malaysia should also invest in building the capabilities and value of local companies.”
He expressed hope that more multinational companies would work alongside Malaysian businesses to strengthen domestic entrepreneurship and create higher-value industries.
–WE