Selangor Wants to Shift From 'Made in Malaysia' to 'Designed and Engineered by Malaysia'

Selangor is setting a new goal for its technology industry. Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the state wants to move from "Made in Malaysia" to "Designed and Engineered by Malaysia", focusing on higher-value semiconductor work such as front-end IC design, electronic design automation (EDA) and intellectual property creation, according to The Edge Malaysia.

What the shift means

Much of Malaysia's chip industry has historically focused on manufacturing, assembly and testing. These are important activities, but the design stage is where much of the intellectual property and value is created. Selangor's ambition is to build more capability in that early stage, so Malaysian engineers and firms design chips rather than only manufacture them for others.

EDA refers to the specialised software tools engineers use to design and verify chips. Access to these tools, which can be expensive, is a common barrier for startups and smaller design firms.

The Puchong IC Design Park

At the centre of the plan is the Malaysia Semiconductor IC Design Park in Puchong. According to its official information, the park offers facilities such as high-performance computing, EDA tools, research and development space and training for local engineers. The idea is to lower the cost and difficulty of starting and growing IC design companies in the state.

Clustering design firms in one location can also help with knowledge sharing, recruitment and partnerships with universities and multinational companies.

Key takeaway: the shift is about talent and intellectual property. Factories can be built quickly; design ecosystems take years of investment in people.

Part of a national push

Selangor's plan fits into a wider national effort. MIDA chairman Tengku Zafrul recently urged local semiconductor firms to use Budget 2027 support to move up the value chain, as we reported in our report on his comments. Khazanah and KWAP are set to invest RM1.2 billion in local semiconductor companies, including a fund focused on Selangor.

The state is also active in attracting other investments. At the Selangor International Business Summit 2026, UOB Malaysia and Invest Selangor facilitated over RM3 billion in proposed investments across data centres, manufacturing and new energy.

Lessons from other design hubs

Countries and regions that have built strong chip design industries typically combined several ingredients over many years: strong engineering universities, access to design tools and fabrication partners, startup funding and a pool of experienced engineers who can mentor younger ones. Selangor's plan touches several of these, particularly shared facilities and training. Retaining talent will be important too, since skilled Malaysian engineers are often recruited by companies in Singapore, the United States and elsewhere.

What it means for Malaysians

If Selangor succeeds, the benefits could include:

1. More high-skilled jobs in chip design, verification, software and embedded systems.
2. Opportunities for graduates in electrical and electronic engineering, computer engineering and related fields.
3. A stronger startup ecosystem, with shared facilities lowering the barrier to entry for design firms.
4. Higher-value exports, since designed-in-Malaysia products capture more value than assembly alone.

For students considering careers, semiconductor design is a field worth exploring, with skills such as digital design, verification and analogue circuit design in demand globally.

What to watch

Key signs of progress will include the number of design companies operating in the Puchong park, partnerships with universities and global chip firms, and how many Malaysian-designed chips reach commercial production. Talent development will be the most important factor to watch over the next few years.