Pikom asks for more affordable ICT tools in Budget 2018

Malaysians need more affordable information and communications technology (ICT) tools in order to position the country as a leader in the digital age, the National ICT Association of Malaysia (Pikom) said.

In a statement Tuesday, Pikom asked the government to provide affordable and accessible ICT hardware and software in the 2018 Budget in the quest to create an educated and informed nation in line with the new digital era.

"We are proposing zero-rated Goods and Services Tax (GST) for ICT products and services, especially for big ticket items like laptops and smartphones," it said, adding that an annual tax relief of RM3,000 should be given for personal computers (PC), tablets and smartphones.

The association also urged the government to reintroduce the Employees Provident Fund's PC Scheme, and reduce broadband prices to be on par with that of other countries.

Meanwhile, Pikom said the 2018 Budget should stimulate greater use of ICT in the government in order to improve public service delivery and reduce operational costs, as well as to serve as a catalyst and confidence booster for the private sector to adopt these technologies.

"The government should accelerate the use of disruptive ICT technologies, such as hyper-scale public cloud, advanced analytics, mobile, social, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT) and Blockchain," it said.

Additionally, it also hoped the government to enhance corporate tax incentives for companies that provided scholarships for computer science, software engineering, as well as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-related courses.

"Enhanced corporate tax should also be provided for companies which train their employees in critical core areas such as data science, artificial intelligence and cyber-security," it said.

Pikom added that a stipend or monetary incentives should also be allocated for students undertaking STEM courses to pursue additional online courses, purchase technology and procure additional resources. -- Bernama