[COLUMNIST] 2022: Malaysia's digitalisation journey continues

2022 has been a remarkable year for Malaysia. After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, high vaccination rates allowed for the reopening of our economy and precipitated a surge of growth.

Moreover, Malaysia held its 15th General Election which led to yet another peaceful formation of a new government—once again proving the growing resilience and maturity of our democracy.

Throughout this calendar year, MyDIGITAL Corporation has steadfastly continued to discharge its duty of implementing the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MDEB) and galvanising our country’s digitalisation.

We strongly believe that the need for Malaysia to digitalise all aspects of its economy remains a constant, transcending partisan politics.

The placement of our institution under the Ministry of Economy is an acknowledgement on the part of the new government of how central digitalisation is to Malaysia's economic future and this is hence tremendously encouraging.

This is a step in the right direction and ought to be supported by all concerned. In fact, one would argue that radical and flexible continuity in this area is what the country needs the most.

Launched in February 2021 when COVID-19 infections were at their height, the MDEB offered a glimmer of hope for Malaysia as it intended to transform the nation into a dynamic digital economy capable of adapting and adjusting to changing trends in the volatile global environment.

In this past year, MyDIGITAL has recorded several notable achievements and key milestones.

On 22 March 2022, MyDIGITAL Corporation and Petrosains Sdn Bhd signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to realise the vision and objectives from the MDEB and National Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) Policy as well as to launch the MyDIGITAL 4IR Experience Centre and MyDIGITAL Maker Studio located at Petrosains, The Discovery Centre at the PETRONAS Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur City Centre.

Following that, on 12 May 2022 American tech giants such as the Microsoft Corporation (Microsoft), Intel Corporation (Intel), Cisco Systems Inc. (Cisco) and Micron Technologies Inc (Micron) handed over letters of intent (LOI) to the Malaysian Government expressing support and intention to partner with Malaysian institutions to realise the ambitions stated in the MDEB and the National 4IR Policy.

Moreover, the MyDIGITAL Catalytic Projects Task Force (CPTF) has continued to support private sector innovation, in line with its mission to facilitate the implementation and adoption of digital technology. Since the first CPTF meeting held in April 2022, several initiatives have been undertaken.

These include partnerships to encourage drone technology in precision farming. MyDIGITAL collaborated with Aerodyne Group, Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM), Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia (JUPEM), Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology & Innovation (MRANTI) and Special Task Force to Facilitate Business (PEMUDAH) in order to reduce approval processing times for Aerial Work Certificates for agriculture drone spraying operations.

Additionally, the CPTF worked with Intel to introduce Autonomous Moving Robots to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The CPTF is also supporting the adoption of electric vehicles (EV) in Malaysia, by facilitating and providing linkages to the Government’s National Agenda of commissioning 10,000 EV Charging Stations by 2025 under the Low Carbon Mobility Blueprint (LCMB) 2021-2030.

MyDIGITAL Corporation was also the lead partner agency for an international “in person” tech event this year – the SMART NATION Expo 2022. Organised by AMB Tarsus, the expo was staged from 27—29 September 2022 at MITEC, Kuala Lumpur. The event allowed visitors to experience how key sectors can be transformed in the digital economy. Its “zones” included smart energy, smart communications, smart manufacturing/IR4.0, smart government, smart mobility, smart security, smart building, smart healthcare, and smart education.

Finally, worldwide leader in technology Cisco, in collaboration with MyDIGITAL Corporation hosted the MyDIGITAL Healthcare Sectoral Workshop at the Le Meridien Putrajaya on 5 October 2022. The workshop, which was attended by a total of 42 participants from five sectors, featured discussions revolving around how digital transformation and innovation can transform and modernise Malaysia’s healthcare system. Five potential use cases in virtual healthcare were shortlisted, which were remote patient monitoring, emergency medical response, virtual palliative care, enhance interoperability of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and hospital-based virtual clinics.

The Healthcare Sectoral workshop showcased how Artificial Intelligence technology can be adapted by the sector for virtual healthcare services. This will have the dual effect of improving healthcare services and making them more efficient as well as reducing the burden of workers.

Reflecting on 2022, it is clear that a lot has been achieved – but it is never enough and there is always more to be done. It is MyDIGITAL Corporation’s sincere wish that 2023 brings with it newer heights and successes as we continue to contribute to the building of an inclusive and equitable society for all Malaysians.

---

* Fabian Bigar is the CEO of MyDIGITAL Corporation.

** The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of Astro AWANI.