KUCHING: Sarawak's free tertiary education policy is a key advantage in attracting investors, says Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg.
The caretaker Sarawak premier said this was one of the factors that prompted SoftBank Group Corp to invest in the state.
"SoftBank told me, 'Why I come here is not because of your power or water alone, but I believe in your education. You will help me to produce all these engineers'," he told a meet-and-greet session with Form Six students here on Tuesday (Nov 10).
Abang Johari noted that the Japanese company's proposed investment is expected to require 2,000 engineers.
He said microchip and petrochemical companies in Sarawak similarly needed more engineers.
"We must be ready to produce the talent for these new industries," he added.
SoftBank, Grab Holdings Ltd and Petroleum Sarawak Bhd (Petros) have signed a joint development agreement for an initial US$1bil (RM4.07bil) investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure in Sarawak.
According to a joint statement on Monday (Nov 9), SoftBank will contribute US$800mil while Grab and Petros will contribute US$100mil each.
The collaboration aims to develop 5GW of AI computing capacity in the long term, besides exploring opportunities across the wider AI value chain.
Abang Johari later told reporters that the proposed investment's main AI processing plant will be in Tanjung Embang near here.
He said it was a suitable location as Sarawak is planning to develop an AI data campus there.
