KUCHING: Sarawak’s expansion into high-technology sectors such as aerospace and the hydrogen economy will depend more on building a strong industrial ecosystem and securing anchor investors than on incentives alone.
Having said this, former Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) deputy chief executive officer Datuk Sivasuriyamoorthy Sundara Raja explained that investments in advanced sectors have far-reaching socio-economic spillover effects that can accelerate overall development.
“If you have high-tech sectors like aerospace, space and even hydrogen, the cascading impact on the socio-economy is huge indeed,” he said during the Fireside Forum titled Driving Growth in Sarawak Socio-Economic Front held in conjunction with the 2026 Sarawak Budget Conference here today (Dec 16).
Sivasuriyamoorthy stressed that incentives, while useful, are not the primary factor in attracting investors.
“Incentives are actually the least important. What matters most is whether you have the right industrial base on the ground, a stable policy environment and the necessary infrastructure,” he said.
According to him, a critical element in developing any high-tech industry is the presence of an anchor tenant that can catalyse the growth of a wider ecosystem.
“If you can bring in an anchor tenant, you can develop the industry,” he said, citing Malaysia’s solar industry as an example.
“When Q-Cells came in, others followed, and today Malaysia is one of the largest producers of solar panels in the world.”
He said Sarawak could replicate this model, pointing to existing developments such as OCI’s operations, which have expanded into producing battery-grade polysilicon used in semiconductor manufacturing.
“That opens the door for Sarawak to build a full semiconductor ecosystem much faster,” he said.
On aerospace, Sivasuriyamoorthy said attracting a major maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) company could serve as a starting point.
“If you can bring in one MRO player, then the others will follow. It has to make business sense, but it is not impossible,” he said, adding that close collaboration with agencies such as MIDA and InvestSarawak would be crucial in coordinated investment promotion efforts.
From a broader investment perspective, he said Sarawak has clear competitive advantages, particularly its focus on green investments and a well-defined energy transition roadmap.
“Sarawak’s policy direction is very clear. You are focusing on green investments, and hydrogen can be a catalytic project that grows an entire ecosystem, not just for Sarawak but for Malaysia,” he said.
He added that Sarawak’s relatively low energy costs further strengthen its appeal to investors in energy-intensive and green technology industries.
