Speaking

Thank you Salah Nasri for organizing this podcast! Photo: Ellen Wendelin Loh, ET Tan & Salah Nasri What makes a risky tech bet pay off? Here’s the formula. In this Semiconductor Leadership Podcast episode, ET Tan — former HP & Seagate Technology leader and a pioneer in R&D — breaks down the difference between bold innovation and costly missteps: Start with insight — deeply understand the real market need. Engineer precisely — combine tech elements to deliver what the market craves:Faster. Smaller. Cheaper. Whether you’re building next-gen chips or launching a startup, ET’s advice cuts through the noise:→ Don’t chase trends. Solve pain points.→ Innovation wins when it meets urgency with clarity.→ Tech is a tool — leadership is the multiplier. Full episode highlights:• The million-transistor breakthrough at HP• Why UK & US innovation cultures differ — and what Penang can learn• How Malaysia can lead in the next global semiconductor wave  Listen now and get a masterclass in product-market fit, leadership, and turning vision into velocity.  Link to original article.

In case you haven’t heard, US President TRUMP WILL BE VISITING MALAYSIA FOR THE 47th ASEAN SUMMIT, alongside the Heads of State of Brazil, South Africa, India, and Canada.And yes, even President Putin might attend. It’s a BIG MOMENT for Malaysia 🇲🇾 All 10 ASEAN leaders will be here, joined by Timor-Leste, our member-in-waiting. The gathering reflects ASEAN’s growing role as a stabilising force and economic powerhouse in a world that’s becoming increasingly multi-polar. Amid global tensions, ASEAN has remained a Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality (ZOPFAN) – a vision declared in 1971 to keep Southeast Asia free from external interference. This was later strengthened in 2003 through the Bali Concord II, which marked a shift from strict neutrality toward an ASEAN Community of deeper economic and institutional integration. The theme for the 2025 Kuala Lumpur ASEAN Summit “Inclusive, Resilient, Sustainable ASEAN” means: 💪 Ensuring youth, women, MSMEs, and rural communities are not left behind💪 Making sustainability about long-term resilience, not just slogans💪 Supporting the smaller and less-developed ASEAN states With this as the backdrop, a small select group was convened to a closed-door Roundtable to discuss, comment, and make suggestions on many of the sensitive issues on tariffs, trade and technology that may be brought to the Summit. And of course, about what POTUS may bring up. What an honour to be invited. And to contribute perspectives shaped by years of working across technology, policy, and human development in the region and elsewhere around the world. ASEAN’s future will be written right here in Kuala Lumpur, KLCC on 26-28 October. It’s a privilege to play a small part in preparing PMX for this momentous meeting. (No, nothing discussed will be revealed here.) What does it mean to local businesses and the general public except for the road closures during the summit? 😉 Watch this space for future posts. 🙏 Terima Kasih to Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Khazanah Research Institute, Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute, and the Prime Minister’s Office for the invitation.

HOW CAN WE PREPARE OURSELVES FOR A.I.?Facts are no longer enough. In the age of AI, curiosity is survival. Have you noticed how fast AI is moving? Every week there’s a new course.A new feature.A new headline about jobs changing—or disappearing. Sometimes it feels like every other day. So… Can we ever catch up? Some think it’s a bubble. That it will burst. Unlikely. The big players chasing AGI may or may not get there. But “narrow AI”- the kind built into everyday tools – will keep spreading.Translators. Navigation apps. Image recognition. Office tools.Quietly reshaping how we live and work. So how do we prepare? If you’re just a user, you’re already covered.AI is running behind the scenes – optimising your food delivery or suggesting edits in your documents. But if you want to create value?To stay relevant?You need more. You need curiosity. The kind that asks: could this be done differently? could this be done better? And when it comes to the next generation… curiosity alone won’t be enough. As I shared at TEDx on 13 September 2025, Multimedia University: AI will change the world faster than any education system can keep up. We can’t hand the next generation all the answers – AI will always have more answers. But we can give them the ability to ask better questions. We need schools to change. Not just teaching kids to cram for exams. But to: Spark imagination – the power to create something from nothing. Feed curiosity – the courage to ask “what if?” and “why not?” CURIOSITY is the spark. CREATIVITY is the fuel. The future won’t belong to those who memorise the most facts. It will belong to those who can IMAGINE what doesn’t yet exist. Let’s raise children not just to use AI.But to out-think it. Because the next generation won’t just cope with the future.They’ll shape it.

The topic was: “THE FUTURE OF TECH ADVANCES OVER THE NEXT DECADE”.  Of course, the answer was going to be A.I. AI is evolving almost every week. As a result, AI is driving everything else: 🌀 Semiconductors.🔹 Advanced Packaging.💠 Data Centers.🌊 Power and Water requirements. ☀️ Sustainability.🏤 What our offices will look like (less people).🤼 How we work (faster). So, “HOW CAN WE KEEP UP WITH THE RAPID TECH ADVANCES?” The moderator asked the panel at MBOT’s ENTICE 2025 event this week. My answer: BE CURIOUS 🤔 Be curious about new announcements. About old ways.About how to use new tools; how to improve your work. That’s the starting point. Then go explore. Learn. As I said at the panel: “YOU DO NOT NEED TO GO TO UNIVERSITY TO GAIN KNOWLEDGE ANY MORE.” Everything is now available from the internet. Or from AI. If you know how to ask questions. Of course, formal learning is the fastest way to get foundational knowledge of any subject. But AI is moving faster than any educational system can respond. Start-ups in Silicon Valley have long ago not required you to have a university degree to join them. They just need your brains. And skills. They find talent wherever they can. 🟢 To develop a product.🔵 To build their business.🟠 To innovate. Large corporations are beginning to realise this.A certificate does not guarantee you can do any of that. CURIOSITY does. People who are curious, and then ACT.Ask questions.Look for answers. Malaysian companies need to realise this.You need curious staff to innovate.  Not just engineers with degrees.You also need managers who know how to respond and nurture innovation. I related an example of our RFID highway toll system. The idea is good. But the implementation is unreliable. How many of us had to reverse our cars at the toll gate because it could not detect our RFID tag? Many hands shot up. 🙋‍♂️ 🙋 🙅 The company has not yet shown any curiosity (or interest) to find out and fix it. How can our companies be able to show face and say our products are “Made By Malaysia”? Malu-lah. I said. By 2030, ASEAN is forecast to be the 3rd largest populated region in the world – after India and China. Expected to exceed 700 million. More than Europe. And Malaysia is smack in the right position to leverage this. If only our companies know how to do this. With the right talent. At all levels. And the mindset to Cooperate. Collaborate. And Combine expertise. With universities. With other companies. Countries.Perhaps even with their competitors. The world is our oyster.  Starting with ASEAN. Thank you to President Siti Hamisah Tapsir and Malaysia Board of Technologists for inviting me to celebrate their 10th Anniversary event. And meeting so many others there, too numerous to mention here.