BKPM Speaks up about NVIDIA Choosing to Invest in Malaysia Instead of Indonesia

Photo: x @Yukimushi_m

JAKARTA - The Investment and Industrialization Ministry/Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) responded to the news of the departure of the US technology giant, NVIDIA, which chose to invest capital in Malaysia rather than Indonesia.

In fact, the government has prepared a digital and technology-based Special Economic Zone (KEK) in Nongsa, Batam, which is expected to be able to attract world-class industries such as NVIDIA.

Deputy for Investment Promotion of the Ministry of Investment and Industrialization/BKPM, Nurul Ichwanmenjelaskan the main reason for the decision. According to him, Malaysia is superior in one factor that is currently still a weakness of Indonesia, namely the availability of high-level technology talent.

"If I heard that they chose Malaysia, one of them was because they listed how many masters, how many PhDs were available in Indonesia and Malaysia according to their needs," he said when met at Wisma Danantara, Jakarta, Friday, January 9.

"Like it or not, it turns out from their observations, Malaysia has more PhDs in computer science and also masters in that field," he continued.

Nurul said that this condition should be a reflection and warning that Indonesia still needs to strengthen the human resource base based on technology.

He said the government would encourage both state and private universities to produce graduates that are relevant to the needs of the digital economy.

"What we must try to pay attention to in the future is how both the government, as well as state and private universities do not prioritize producing human resources that are not relevant to the needs of the industry in the future," he said.

According to Nurul, the needs of the future industry cannot be separated from the ability of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

"So in the future STEM should be the mainstream for human resource development," he said.