THE Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone provides a golden opportunity for nanotechnology companies to set up productions which will bring mutual benefits to the company as well as the state government, says Bukit Bendera MP Wong Hon Wai.
Wong, who was representing Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, was speaking at the 2019 IEEE International Conference on Sensors and Nanotechnology at Bayview Beach Resort on July 24.
“The state government is very committed to developing the state technology industry. At the same time, we also emphasised the development of young minds through STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) initiative, Penang Science Cluster, Penang Digital Library and Tech Dome in Komtar,” Wong said in his speech at the conference.
“All these programmes are initiated by the state government to bolster and encourage the younger generation to learn more about science and technology.
“Without a doubt, the youth will one day be the leaders and pioneers of our country so it is paramount to nurture their interest in technology at a young age. This will contribute to their development as a whole.”
Wong said nanotechnology plays a significant part in helping Malaysia move forward. Its importance has resulted in the setting up of companies like NanoMalaysia Berhad by the Federal Government in 2011.
“Nanotechnology has revolutionised the world. The conference here will be a great jump start to further promote nanotechnology in Malaysia.
“Having conferences such as this allows innovations and promotes sustainable development of technology by increasing the competitiveness amongst technology players and the researchers.”
There are seven keynote speakers, 14 invited speakers and about 80 technical paper speakers at the two-day conference. The topics range from nanomaterials and nanodevices to emerging sensors and machine learning applications.
Also present was conference chair Assoc Prof Dr Mohd Khairuddin Md Arshad.
Story by K.H. Ong