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Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : LANGKAWI, KEDAH
Tarikh/Date : 05/12/97
Tajuk/Title : THE LAUNCHING OF THE BLUEPRINT FOR
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MALAYSIAN
AEROSPACE INDUSTRY
1. Firstly, let me extend a warm welcome to everyone
gathered here to witness the launching of the Blueprint
for the Development of the Aerospace Industry in
Malaysia.
2. It was here in Langkawi during the LIMA '95 that I
entrusted the task of formulating an aerospace policy
for the country to MIGHT. Since, then, MIGHT has formed
a consultative platform i.e. MIGHT Interest Group (MIG)
in Aerospace which comprise individuals from the
aerospace industry, government agencies, academia,
consultants and foreign investors as the reference point
for ideas and information. The Blueprint was completed
last year and subsequently received the Cabinet
endorsement in September 1997.
3. The Government believes that the aerospace industry
is very important to the overall development of the
country. There is a critical need for the restructuring
of the aerospace industry and its players. The industry
itself encompasses so many sub-sectors from aviation to
space, from overhaul and maintenance activities to the
manufacturing of a whole aircraft. Malaysia is a small
country with a small domestic market and limited
resources. On the other hand, the aerospace industry is
very regulated and integrated and support those
companies which are already established and possess a
strong reputation.
4. Our limited resources will have to be shared with
the other fast expanding sectors, such as automotive,
oil & gas, multimedia, etc. Therefore the aerospace
industry cannot afford to be too divergent and
fragmented. It is therefore imperative that the
industry adopts the national vision as its main thrust,
and approaches the aerospace development task on a
consolidated basis. This will provide a nationally
consistent framework for identifying and evaluating key
initiatives to be developed.
5. The blueprint recommends the establishment of a
national level steering committee to oversee the
development of the aerospace industry. This committee,
in the form of a national aerospace council, will make
key decisions in the areas of directions, priorities and
strategies for the industry. The council will adopt the
Smart Partnership principles with the participation of
leaders from both the public and private sectors and the
study team has requested that the Prime Minister and
Deputy Prime Minister to be the Chairman and Deputy
Chairman of the Council respectively. This will be
considered by the Government.
6. In addition to the council, the government also
supports the idea of a national aerospace coordinating
body to act as a reference point for the various
aerospace activities and investments. The new body will
consolidate the current national initiatives in the
aerospace sector and to further spearhead Malaysia's
involvement in the industry. It will become the
reference point for the managing of offset programmes
and act as an intermediary for local and foreign
interests in the industry.
7. Taking into account the industry expansion into new
and unexplored territory of aerospace activities, the
existing Department of Civil Aviation will have to be
upgraded. The proposed Civil Aviation Authority will
provide the industry with a monitoring as well as
regulatory function in the areas of airworthiness, air
traffic control and aerospace product/services.
8. A National Human Resource Development Programme
will also be put in place to ensure that the quantity,
skills and costs of personnel is adequate and
competitive. It will take into account the various
categories of labour required in the aerospace industry
such as toolmakers, aircraft engineers, test pilot,
system analysts and so on. In addition to that,
Malaysia hope to establish a premier educational centre
for aerospace which will serve the domestic as well as
the regional need for education and training.
9. The aerospace industry houses the most complex core
technologies which are applicable to other industries
and provide critical technologies for the future. It
provides a gateway to technological acquisition and
therefore it is essential that these technologies
acquired through procurement and offsets would help the
nation to gain access to a foreign market and fully
realise our national competitive advantage.
10. Malaysia's entry into the space sector will be
further strengthened by the establishment of the
Malaysian Agency for Space Administration or MASA. MASA
will ensure the efficient management of our space
venture which include the development of a national
satellite programme where it could help to develop our
industrial and technology capability in this area.
11. For the successful implementation of these key
programmes, the industry must be equally supported by
policies which are both rationale and enhancing. A
national procurement policy which emphasises on local
products/services and technology will ensure a
sustainable economic development and reduces import and
financial outflow. This policy is important in the
procurement of military equipment, privatisation
projects, offset programmes and so on.
12. The focus of the recommendations in the blueprint
is on the government because it sets the legislative
framework and policy. However, the success of the
industry will be a responsibility that goes much farther
than the government. Action and participation is
required by all the stakeholders.
13. If we can achieve all that is set out in this
blueprint, Malaysia will have an aerospace industry that
will be globally-competitive and widely acknowledged as
what has been achieved by our electronics and automotive
industry.
14. It is only appropriate that LIMA becomes the
location for launching this blueprint. The completion
of this very important task given to MIGHT with great
responsibility and professionalism is commendable.
15. It now gives me great pleasure to officially launch
the Blueprint for the Development of the Aerospace
Industry in Malaysia
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