Local Companies Urged To Accelerate Automation -- Johari

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- Local companies of all sizes need to accelerate automation in operations and production as the future supply of foreign workers is unlikely to match current levels, said Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani. 

“We want many companies, regardless of size, whether micro, small or medium, to understand how important it is to bring automation into operations and production as soon as possible,” he told reporters after officiating the Women, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Economy Forum here today.

He said foreign workers were brought in to do dirty, dangerous and difficult (3D) jobs, not to replace local workers. 

“We have to be fair to local workers because their lives are not the same as foreign workers’. Our people have many family members who need to be supported here,” he said. 

Johari said employers who claim that locals do not want to work should reconsider their offers. 

“If they are offered the minimum wage, maybe they do not want it as they don’t see the economic value. Our people are willing to go to Singapore to work because there is economic value,” he said. 

The forum brought together perspectives from government leadership, academia, industry, and entrepreneurship to discuss the role of women in the AI era, particularly the question of who creates and owns value as AI increasingly shapes the future economy.

-- BERNAMA