Abg Jo says state will continue working with the Chinese firm in advancing technology

KUCHING: Sarawak is not concerned about US president Donald Trump’s dispute with Huawei Technologies as the state is determined to work closely with the Chinese firm, says Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.

The chief minister said Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad once asked him whether he would fear Trump, given Sarawak’s collaboration with Huawei.

Abang Johari said his response to Dr Mahathir was: “Well sir, you said Malaysia has no secrets. If Malaysia has no secrets, Sarawak has no secrets.”

He added that Sarawak would not cease collaborating with Huawei just because of the tense relations between the Chinese tech-giant and the US.

“We don’t have Trump in Kuching. We have ‘Johari’ in Kuching,” he said in launching the ‘Sarawak Beyond Paradigm Summit 2019’ here yesterday.

According to Abang Johari, Sarawak has what it takes to transform its economy from conventional into digital for further advancements.

He said Sarawak would need to focus on the development of artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology and nanotechnology in order to move forward.

“Sarawak can develop talents in terms of AI, and we will continue collaborating with Huawei towards this end,” he said.

At the launch, the chief minister interacted with AI-powered ‘Sophia the Robot’, where he asked Sophia what differentiated her from other robots.

Sophia responded by pointing out that most robots did not get the chance to interact with the Chief Minister of Sarawak.

In replying to a question, she said Abang Johari was ‘handsome’ but when asked again by the chief minister whether she was being courteous, she responded: “I’m not programmed to lie, so I mean what I say.”

In a post-launch press conference, Abang Johari said the summit was to create awareness of the importance of technology and Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0).

He said once the community learned about such importance, it would be more efficient and cost-saving for the government to go through the process.

“AI is an important process to add value to our resources. We can optimise our resources in line with our transformation programme to achieve digital economy,” he said.

He added that Sarawak was at the stage of producing the right talents who were intelligent enough to cope with technology.

“We are on the right path. We need to create the right pool of talents to have a bright future and change our economy.”

The summit aimed at bringing together businesses working on IR4.0 solutions and getting them together to initiate ideas, discuss concepts as well as implement them. Serba Dinamik Holdings organised the summit, with the Malaysian Investment Development Authority as co-organiser.

Other partners were Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, Microsoft Malaysia, Centre of Technical Excellence Sarawak, Huawei and TM One while Sarawak Multimedia Authority supported the event.

Among those present were Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Integrity and Ombudsman) Datuk Talib Zulpilip, Assistant Minister of E-Commerce Datuk Mohd Naroden Majais, Assistant Minister of Corporate Affairs Abdullah Saidol and Advisor of Science Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan.