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The PM said collaboration between the government and Elon Musk is expected to create tens of thousands of skilled job opportunities.
The participation of SpaceX's satellite services Starlink in Malaysia is expected to have a positive impact on the development of Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity and new industrial use cases, an analyst said.
GlobalData principal analyst Alfie Amir noted that SpaceX's Starlink presence in the country will greatly benefit industries while complementing Malaysia's significant development in Internet connectivity.
“What we see now is that telecommunication companies globally are increasingly adding low earth orbit (LEO) satellites through partnerships with satellite operators such as Starlink.
“The use cases on this partnership are mainly for the IoT connectivity in remote areas -- to increase network reliability, as backup and for critical communications,“ he told Bernama.
Earlier today, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had a 25-minute video conference with the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of SpaceX, Elon Musk.
The discussion which mainly focused on the field of electric vehicle (EV), also revolved around SpaceX's participation which can contribute to faster and more widespread Internet access, especially in rural areas.
Anwar noted that the collaboration between the Malaysian government and Musk is expected to create tens of thousands of skilled job opportunities in the country while confirming at least three local companies to be involved in the project with SpaceX.
Also participating in the virtual meeting with Musk, who is also the CEO of Tesla Inc, are Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz and Minister of Communications and Digital Fahmi Fadzil.
In the meantime, Tengku Zafrul in his Facebook posting today reaffirmed that further discussion on the collaboration between SpaceX's Starlink and the Malaysian government will take place soon.
Meanwhile, commenting on the success of the meeting, Sunway University economics professor Dr Yeah Kim Leng highlighted that the fruitful discussion between Anwar and Musk has actually sparked a chain reaction with further commitments agreed between the two parties.
“Besides the investment of Tesla's Malaysian office that will contribute to Malaysia's EV industry drive, the other significant potential collaboration is the Starlink satellite services that will bring down Internet costs and reduce the urban-rural digital divide.
“The positive reception from the meeting will also contribute in a small but meaningful way to strengthening investors' confidence towards the country,” he said.
Source: www.thesundaily.my