Govt should plug digital infrastructure gaps in tourism, social sectors - Analyst

KUALA LUMPUR: The government should urgently look at digital infrastructure gaps within the tourism and social sectors in the wake of the total lockdown in the country, said crisis management analyst Nordin Abdullah.

He said as the tourism and social sectors as are going to be the hardest hit during the full movement control order (FMCO), the government needs to evaluate how to migrate the services provided online.

This will enable the people in these sectors to stay home and get the services they require from the government, he added.

"No matter how much digital infrastructure is put in place, it will probably not have any effect on these two sectors," he told Bernama TV's 'Mid-Day Update' programme today.

Nordin was responding to the PEMERKASA Plus financial aid package worth RM40 billion announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday.

"We look forward to a continued positive response and the way the government continues to manage this crisis from a need base.

"Direct response and help need to go to those in the tourism and social sectors," he said, adding that 60 per cent of government revenue in 2020 was derived from digital transactions.

On concern about job availability, he said a huge percentage of jobs are generated through the private sector involving small and medium enterprises (SMEs), whereby 98.5 per cent of business establishments in Malaysia are SMEs.

"We can keep unemployment at the base and also under-employment by looking at dealing with SMEs, with those companies hardest hit at the moment.

"When we talk about economic recovery, we need individuals in the economy earning as much as they possibly can in an economically and viable manner," he added.

-- BERNAMA