IT is crucial for Sarawak to master the challenges brought by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) which merged the physical, digital and biological worlds, said Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg.

“We need to optimise our business capabilities and processes in order to boldly lead Sarawak into the future we envisaged for our people, by collaborating through the sharing of our collective knowledge and participating in strategic partnership,” he said.

To achieve the future envisioned, the state needs to provide its young talents with the environment and basic infrastructure to harness their capabilities, he said when opening the Business Excellence Seminar and Forum 2017 organised by the Malaysia Productivity Corporation here today.

Citing the acquisition of the Bakun Dam, championing the digital economy and setting up the Bank of Sarawak as examples of the initiatives mooted under his administration, Abang Johari said they were the manifestation of the state’s commitment towards realising the vision.

Speaking to reporters later, Abang Johari said currently, many industries in Sarawak were not even fully into the Second Industrial Revolution (a phase of rapid industrialisation or mechanisation).

“Not all our sectors are fully mechanised, then we talk about the Industrial Revolution 3.0 that is about using devices, the new way to run your businesses. But I want to leapfrog into (Industry) 4.0, that is involving artificial intelligence.

“Whether we can do it (or not)... Well, that is why we need to have a certain roadmap to leapfrog.

“The key is to have good connectivity, and good IT infrastructure. All the initiatives I have taken are really to stimulate our economic growth, at the same time stimulate the talent of our young people.

“We have these talents among Sarawakians, particularly those staying overseas. So, we (need to) bring them back, and they will apply those talents within that (Industry) 4.0 ecosystem. That is why I’m talking about big data,” he added. – Bernama, August 23, 2017.