KUCHING: Sarawak will focus on renewable energy, semiconductors, aerospace and human capital in its development planning beyond 2030, says Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg.
The Premier said these four sectors would drive the state's economic growth in the period following the state's post-Covid development strategy (PCDS).
"2030 is only five years away and this is the time for us to deliver the PCDS. But now we have to think of what we will do beyond 2030," he said at the Asean Sarawak Business and Economic Forum here on Thursday (Feb 12).
Organised by the Asean Business Club, KSI Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific and the Asean Economic Club, the forum brought together policymakers, investors and business leaders to discuss energy transition, industrial policy in the context of AI, development finance and climate policy.
Abang Johari said Sarawak will continue its renewable energy agenda, leveraging on its rich energy sources including hydropower, biomass, solar and hydrogen.
He said the state's energy capacity was projected to reach 10GW by 2030, with plans to supply power to Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore.
"We are already supplying energy to West Kalimantan. Two months ago we started supplying power to Sabah and at the end of the year we will supply to Brunei," he said.
Abang Johari also said Sarawak was actively conducting research on developing semiconductors in collaboration with British partners.
"We are concentrating on chip design to produce AI-powered chips. We want to be a creator rather than a user of chips," he said.
In addition, the Premier said Sarawak was venturing into the aerospace sector, with plans to explore the use of nano satellites such as CubeSats for data storage.
He said the low earth orbit CubeSats were less expensive than conventional satellites and could be used for gathering and storing important data for development planning.
To support these aspirations, he said Sarawak will continue developing its human capital to prepare the workforce for new economic sectors.
In line with this, he said the state was implementing the free tertiary education scheme starting this year for Sarawakian students at state-owned institutions of higher learning.
"It covers 64 programmes, all science-based except for finance, accounting, law, medicine and psychology," he said.
Abang Johari also said Sarawak was committed to delivering outcomes by 2030 that will strengthen the state's competitiveness in a fragmented global economy.
He said the state's high-level strategies under the 13th Malaysia Plan included accelerating the clean energy transition, attracting key industries such as downstream gas and petrochemicals, increasing investor confidence and engaging in climate action.
"Sarawak is moving from vision to delivery. We invite those who value execution, certainty and long-term partnership to move forward with us," he said.
Earlier, KSI president Tan Sri Michael Yeoh said Sarawak's digital and green transformation will future-proof its economy and provide opportunities for growth.
"I believe more investors will discover Sarawak as a robust region with a progressive leadership," he said.
