Taiwan is working to expand its ties with Malaysia, one of its closest partners in Southeast Asia. From agriculture to technology and education, we examine the diverse connections between the two countries.
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00:00Welcome to Southbound, your ticket for a deeper look at Taiwan's links with Southeast Asia
00:16and beyond.
00:17I'm Tiffany Wong, a reporter at Taiwan Plus.
00:20Taiwan has been trying to make friends in Southeast Asia, and Malaysia has been one
00:24of its key targets.
00:26One of the ways Taiwan has been trying to open up to Malaysia is by welcoming its Muslim
00:30population.
00:31The Taipei Grand Mosque stands as a testament to Taiwan's religious acceptance and diversity.
00:37And now, Taiwan is trying to expand even more by offering more halal foods.
00:41It's a growing industry, expected to be worth US$6 trillion by 2030.
00:57From local Malay food to Indian rice dishes and Chinese noodle soups, Malaysia is a heaven
01:02for foodies with diverse palates.
01:05And for over 64 percent of the local population, it's important that that food is halal, meaning
01:10prepared according to Islamic law.
01:16Over 20 million Malaysians are Muslim and follow a set of ethical practices that include
01:21avoiding products that may have come into contact with pork and alcohol.
01:26Now, foreign food vendors hoping to penetrate the Malaysian market are changing their menus
01:30to suit that requirement.
01:32Like this Taiwanese coffee shop, which just opened its first location in Malaysia.
01:46That's caused some major changes for their brand.
01:49But everything on the menu here in Kuala Lumpur is completely different from the menu in Taiwan.
01:54For example, this coconut milk latte and this coconut pandan cake, known as onde-onde,
01:59are all made to suit Malaysian tastes.
02:02And part of that is making sure everything is halal.
02:05The first step is finding halal-certified suppliers for raw materials like coffee beans and sugar,
02:10who do not use alcohol for disinfection or for preservatives.
02:14And this cafe has found a partner in Taiwan's first halal-certified sugar company that's
02:19here in Malaysia, participating in the world's biggest halal trade fair.
02:23This sugar company spent over a year completely changing their production processes to meet halal guidelines,
02:29making sure the winter melon and sugar production processes are suitably clean for Muslim consumption,
02:34accruing over US$50,000 in fees for the adjustments.
02:38The end product? These halal-certified winter melon tea bricks,
02:42a transportable, ready-to-brew Taiwanese staple.
02:46It's really a Taiwan team, Team Taiwan.
02:48We can come together to spread this authentic, traditional beverage to the world.
03:00Taiwan is considered one of the most halal-friendly countries in East Asia,
03:04and Taiwanese businesses like these are adapting what they offer to make their customers feel more welcome.
03:09According to the Taiwan Halal Center, more and more Taiwanese companies are applying
03:13for halal certification and looking to expand their markets abroad.
03:17There are more than 1,000 halal-certified businesses in Taiwan since 2017.
03:24This is because more tourists from Southeast Asia come to Taiwan.
03:34This is also a way for us to show our friendship with Southeast Asia.
03:39As Taiwan diversifies its trade away from China and looks south,
03:43Malaysia and its halal markets may be just what it needs in a steady economic partner in the region.
03:49Taiwan is also increasing its ties with Malaysia through agricultural exchange,
03:53helping farmers expand their farms into larger, more profitable enterprises
03:58that also help their communities.
04:00While in Malaysia, I visited two farms that adopted a traditional Taiwanese-style
04:05While in Malaysia, I visited two farms that adopted agricultural production techniques
04:09and business strategies from Taiwan.
04:19Every day, 41-year-old farmer Lee Fa Cheng tends to his crops in the rural village of Rasa, Malaysia,
04:25an hour's drive from the capital Kuala Lumpur.
04:28Many of his seedlings are from Taiwan, where he studied agricultural production,
04:32and he's using a planting technique that he learned there.
04:57Lee returned to Malaysia five years ago to revitalize his father's farm.
05:01And he says it's techniques from Taiwan that have been key to the farm's production.
05:14With production going well, Lee has now set his mind on growing the farm into an even bigger business.
05:25Lee has dreams of turning his farm into a leisure farm,
05:28not just a place for production, but a space for people to learn about where their food comes from,
05:33plant and harvest crops, and consume the farm's products in a cafe setting like this, all in a day's visit.
05:59Two hours west, at a rice factory along the coast,
06:03another farmer is also using techniques from Taiwan to expand his business.
06:18Alan Lim has grown his rice farm in the agricultural town of Sekinchan
06:22into an operation that also provides services to other farms in the area,
06:26giving his business extra income.
06:51Lim's factory was introduced to that technology early on.
06:55From the seeding conveyors to the transplanters,
06:57these machines were all brought over from Taiwan to Malaysia over two decades ago.
07:02And with two transplanters, farmers can plant the equivalent of over two football fields of rice in just two and a half hours.
07:10They say this has rapidly spread up their process in such a labor-intensive task,
07:14and that they'll keep using these same Taiwanese machines to do so as long as they can last.
07:20Taiwan's agriculture ministry hopes that it can continue to share these homegrown technologies and strategies
07:25to improve the lives of Malaysian farmers, who it says it uniquely relates to.
07:50These farmers are already making the most of their connection to Taiwan,
07:55a relationship that Taiwan hopes to expand for the benefit of more Malaysian farms.
08:02Shared culture is an important factor driving Taiwan's exchanges with Malaysia,
08:06and it's also an important factor that attracts many Malaysian students to Taiwanese universities.
08:11Currently, there are over 10,000 Malaysian students studying in Taiwanese schools,
08:16making them the third largest group of international students in the country.
08:20I spoke with high school students in Kuala Lumpur and Penang to see how they're looking for a place in Taiwan.
08:3717-year-old Wang Roshan is in her final year of secondary school in Penang, Malaysia.
08:42It may also be her last year at home.
08:45She plans to go abroad for college and study technology in either Singapore or Taiwan.
08:50After studying in Taiwan, many of my classmates chose to work there.
08:54They told me that Taiwan offers good job opportunities, especially in the field of technology.
08:59The benefits are good, so I'm excited to do more research.
09:09Like Wang, around 90% of ethnic Chinese in Malaysia enroll at these independent Chinese high schools,
09:15where they study in English and Malay, aside from Chinese,
09:19broadening their options for higher education abroad, an option many here must consider
09:24because Malaysian public universities follow a quota system that favors Malays,
09:28making it harder for these students to find a place to study in their home country.
09:33It's private Chinese high schools in Malaysia like these that send many students to Taiwan,
09:38making them one of the largest groups of international students in the country.
09:42Hundreds of kilometers away in the capital, Kuala Lumpur,
09:45students at another private Chinese high school are taking extra physics classes during a school break,
09:50trying to stay ahead of the competition.
10:07And once done with university, many of these students say they plan to stay in Taiwan to begin their careers.
10:13In 2023, Malaysians became the largest group of foreign professionals in Taiwan,
10:17with jobs in tech and commerce, surpassing Japanese workers for the first time.
10:22They also outnumbered workers from Indonesia and Vietnam,
10:25who are the two largest groups of international students in the country.
10:29Some educators say that a similarity in culture and a multilingual background
10:33could also give Malaysians an advantage in finding jobs in Taiwan.
10:42It's easy for them to adapt to life in Taiwan.
10:47For example, these big businessmen like Malaysian students.
10:55They have the advantage of multilingualism.
10:59For example, they speak English, Chinese, Minnanese, Malay, and so on.
11:04But that's all in the future.
11:06For now, these high school students have their sights set on the immediate challenge ahead,
11:10taking it one class and one test at a time,
11:13as they prepare to leave high school and make their way to Taiwan.
11:21Taiwan is a global leader in the semiconductor industry,
11:24and manufacturers in Southeast Asia are becoming increasingly important for the sector,
11:28as Taiwan navigates a trade war between the U.S. and China.
11:32Now, the Malaysian state of Penang is stepping up its efforts to increase investment
11:36and solidify its place in the supply chain.
11:41Customizing industrial computers for buyers in the ASEAN region.
11:45These engineers at Taiwanese computer maker Advantech are showing off their latest orders,
11:50now produced in the company's newest service center in Penang, Malaysia.
11:55It's followed its customers there, many of whom now prefer to do business in the region
12:00so as not to be overly reliant on China,
12:02where the risks of trade barriers or supply chain disruptions are greater
12:06and labor costs are rising.
12:08Among Southeast Asian nations, Malaysia has emerged as an attractive option for Advantech.
12:13It's also considered about the advantage in Malaysia,
12:17like for example, multiple ratio, like good education, good talent,
12:22good English capability, and so on.
12:25So consider all the factors, so we invest in Penang to become a shared service center
12:33covered in the whole ASEAN region.
12:38And many multinational companies agree.
12:40In 2023, Penang attracted a record US$12.8 billion in foreign direct investment,
12:46garnering more than the combined total of the previous decade.
12:49This is Bayan Lepas Science Park, the first free trade zone in Malaysia.
12:54It opened in the 1970s and has since become home to big names like Intel,
12:58AMZ and HP, companies which have helped Penang become known as the Silicon Valley of the East.
13:05Now, some of these long-term investors like Intel, which has been here over 50 years,
13:09are still continuing to develop in this area.
13:11Since then, Penang has become a leader in the lower end of the value chain for tech like semiconductors,
13:17and its established government incentives and infrastructure have made it a top destination for investors.
13:22In May, the government launched its National Semiconductor Strategy,
13:26aiming to move up the value chain and strengthen talent retention.
13:29But analysts warn this could take years.
13:31For now, the state's investment agency is diversifying beyond semiconductors
13:35to boost production and balance the economy.
13:38We brought in the mech tech industries, we brought in the food industries,
13:42because these industries are not so cyclical,
13:45and we hope that while the semiconductor cycles happen to be low,
13:51these other industries will be able to buffer their shocks.
13:54As Penang looks to benefit from shifting trends in chip making,
13:57it's attracting growing interest from Taiwanese companies like Advantech.
14:01And with this momentum, Penang hopes to solidify its place as the resilient Silicon Valley of the East
14:06and reshape the global semiconductor supply chain.
14:10Thank you for joining us for the second episode of Southbound.
14:13For more from Malaysia, join me on a tour of the Sun Yat-Sen Museum in Penang.
14:17You can go to TaiwanPlus.com for that.
14:19I'm Tiffany Wong in Taipei, take care and see you next time.
14:36Transcription by ESO. Translation by —