APRIL 2025
Premier To Lead Uk Visit To Advance Semi-Conductor Industry
KUCHING, Sat: Premier of Sarawak, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Abang Haji Johari bin Tun Datuk Abang Haji Openg is leading a Sarawak government delegation to visit the CSA Catapult Innovation Centre in Newport, United Kingdom as part of the effort to strengthen collaboration in semi-conductor development between the UK and Sarawak.
The visit to the innovation centre next Tuesday (April 29) will see Sarawak Government through SMD Semiconductor Sdn. Bhd. exchange partnership agreements document with CSA Catapult, Silicon Catalyst and 5G3i Ltd. of the UK.
CSA Catapult is UK’s authority on compound semiconductor applications and commercialisation while Silicon Catalyst is a key semiconductor incubator and the 5G3i Ltd is a leading circuit-level artificial intelligence solutions provider in the UK.
The Sarawak government will also present the Sarawak Semiconductor Roadmap 2030 to the UK semi-conductor industry players during the same ceremony via a briefing by SMD Semi-conductor’s Chairman, Dato Sri Wanlizozman Haji Wan Omar, who is also Sarawak’s Financial Secretary.
There will also be a hardware demonstration and soft-launch of SMD’s new AI-powered converter prototype, a ground-breaking intelligent power management and control system with potential applications in the energy domain, transportation, industrial and mission-critical control systems in the fields of aerospace, healthcare and defence.
The visit to the facility will be capped off with a networking luncheon with representatives from the English, Scottish and Northern Irish governments to strengthen relationship between UK and Sarawak, particularly in the advancement of compound semiconductor.
For the record, Sarawak’s SMD Semi-conductor last year on April 2024 signed a MOU with CSA Catapult to pave the way for a close collaboration between Sarawak and UK semiconductor ecosystem.
On Wednesday (April 30), the Premier will continue with his working visit to the UK with a call on the Cambridge University Press and Assessment, a non-school institution of the University of Cambridge that offers a wide range of products and services focusing on education, learning, research and qualifying assessments.
The assessment services include the administration of a range of assessments, particularly qualifications for schools and higher education, and other standardized tests relevant to the implementation of assessment tests for schools in Sarawak.
On the following day (May 1) he will be leading a delegation to the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) where there will a roundtable discussion on sustainability followed by a MOU exchange between LSE and Sarawak government.
In the afternoon of May 1, he will be meeting with officials of the International Hydropower Association and Global Renewable Alliances to enhance collaboration between the world body and Sarawak as a prominent hydropower provider in ASEAN.
On the following Day (May 2), the Premier will deliver a keynote address at a gathering of industry players and captains of industries to promote collaboration and investment in sustainable and renewable industries in Sarawak.
On the night of May 3, he will meet Sarawak students in the UK where he will speak on the various development initiatives in Sarawak and field questions from students in a Lan Berambeh gathering organised by the Sarawak students’ association in the UK.
On the following day, the Premier and members of his delegation will fly to Toulouse in France for working tour of the Airbus headquarters before proceeding to Abu Dhabi for a meeting with the Abu Dhabi port authority and tour of the port and also tour of the Zayed International Airport.
Among members of the delegations are Deputy Premier, Datuk Amar Haji Awang Tengah Ali Hassan, Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development, Dato Sri Roland Sagah Wee Inn, Minister for Utilities and Telecommunication, Dato Sri Haji Julaihi Haji Narawi, Sarawak State Secretary, Datuk Amar Haji Mohamad Abu Bakar bin Marzuki, Deputy Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development, Datuk Francis Hardin Hollis, Deputy Minister for Energy and Enviromental Sustainability, Datuk Dr. Haji Hazland bin Haji Abang Hipni and Deputy Minister for Utilities and Telecommunication, Dato Ibrahim Baki.
File photo shows the Premier in a group photograph with members of his delegation & CSA Catapult officials after the initial MOU signing in London in April, 2024.