KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is accelerating semiconductor design cycles by leveraging Arm Ltd's intellectual property (IP), building on its 50-year manufacturing base to shorten development timelines and expand homegrown IP capabilities.
Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said Malaysia is leveraging its established strengths in backend manufacturing alongside global architecture partnerships.
"Number one, we have to actually recognise the fact that Malaysia already has some strength, especially in terms of talent and expertise... for the past decades, we have proven our expertise of testing, equipment and packaging," he said.
"But at the same time, building on those strengths, Malaysia has embarked on a collaboration with Arm, for example, to gain access to IP design," he said on the sidelines of the Selangor AI & Semiconductor Summit (AiSEM) 2026 here today.
Akmal said this combination enabled local design parks to produce six market-ready chip innovations within just two years.
Earlier, during his opening address, he officially launched the six homegrown chips, which have an estimated combined sales potential of RM300 million and were developed within the Malaysia Semiconductor IC Design Park, signalling a national transition from 'Made in Malaysia' to 'Made by Malaysia'.
"Federal and state semiconductor hubs should complement rather than duplicate one another, creating a unified national ecosystem rather than isolated centres.
"On concerns regarding potential investment overlaps between federal plans and individual state projects, such as in Sarawak and Selangor, each state brings distinct value chain advantages," he said.
He noted that Malaysia aims to increase the proportion of skilled workers to 35 per cent under the Thirteenth Malaysia Plan (13MP) by expanding high-growth, high-value sectors.
"Upgrading workforce capabilities remains central to the government's economic trajectory.
"In terms of the percentage of skilled workers, for example, based on 2025 data, our skilled workforce was around 31 per cent. But at the same time, under the 13MP, we have set a target to increase that percentage to 35 per cent," he added.
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