Abdul Halim said there are a lot of local talents in Penang and it was time to nurture them to go big into research and development (R&D). ― Picture by Sayuti Zainudin

GEORGE TOWN, Aug 8 — Penang should start creating its own brand of products for the world market instead of counting on foreign businesses to shore up its investments, state executive councillor Datuk Abdul Halim Hussain said today.

The Domestic and International Trade, Consumer Affairs and Entrepreneur Development Committee chairman said Penang is only making goods for foreign businesses when it should start manufacturing its own to move up the supply chain and compete on a global level.

“It has been over 50 years since the manufacturing sector started here and we have not moved up much; we are still on the OEM and ODM level,” he told reporters during a break at a forum on the US-China Trade War at the Penang Institute today.

The acronym OEM refers to original equipment manufacturer while ODM refers to original design manufacturer.

He said that Penang would be able to weather any economic storm if it made its own original products, whether in the electrical and electronics sector, of which it is Malaysia’s hub, or in other sectors like aerospace and medical devices.

He pointed to China’s Huawei as an example of a successful brand, adding that there were many talented Malaysians who have gone abroad and helped create niche products in Taiwan and mainland China.

“We should be moving towards original brand manufacturer and not remaining where we are, relying on FDIs,” he said.

He said there are a lot of local talents in Penang and it was time to nurture them to go big into research and development (R&D).

“It is when we create our own products, we can be self-sustaining and not rely on FDIs,” he said.

He added that with our own R&D sector here, Malaysians can move towards selling their intellectual properties to be developed here.

“These will become homegrown products that are created and developed here, in Malaysia, and we can export these out globally to compete,” he said.