KUALA LUMPUR - China's technology giant Huawei demonstrated its 5G technology and applications at a 5G Showcase in Malaysia on Thursday that drew the attention of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Mahathir made a 5G video phone call using a Huawei phone when he visited the company's booth at the 5G Malaysia Showcase event in the country's administration center of Putrajaya.

When delivering his speech, Mahathir Mohamad said Malaysia's manufacturing sector would benefit greatly from 5G technology, both in terms of investments and better processes.

"5G will impact every industry that are vital to the growth of the country's economy," he said.

The 93-year-old prime minister pointed to his introduction of the Multimedia Super Corridor initiative in 1996 during his previous term in office, as it became the stepping stone for bringing internet infrastructure into Malaysia as an example of how the country needed to embrace new technology to stay ahead.

He added that 5G technology was a step ahead of the initial capabilities with an emphasis on greater connectivity and convergence of technology.

"It promises a world, where not only people are connected, but all things are connected. From cars on the roads to robotic devices and doctors able to perform surgeries from the other side of the world to a fleet of drones that can fly over a field of crops, using sensors on the ground to sort, pick, feed, and water individual plants automatically," he said.

The showcase aims to highlight the potential of 5G where the Malaysian public can come and have first-hand user experience on the use cases and demos from local and international organizations.

Huawei was among the industry players that participated in the event.

Yuan Ming, head of Huawei Malaysia, told Xinhua that the company has established cooperation with leading Malaysian mobile operators like Maxis and Celcom.

As soon as Malaysia complete its planning of 5G network, Huawei is confident that it could support the mobile operators to deploy the networks in a large scale and in minimum time, he said.