Easy access to cheap foreign labor In Malaysia means that local manufacturers there don’t see much need or incentive to automate. The country’s government knows that’s dangerous and has created a program and fund to help SMEs move to Industry 4.0 -- where automation, robotics, the Internet of Things, A-I and Big Data Analytics will drive production and productivity. To make that challenging transition, it’s getting help from the country that first developed the concept of Industry 4.0 – Germany – and its high-tech industrial powerhouse state of Bavaria in particular, as Rian Maelzer reports from Kuala Lumpur.