Malaysia aims to be regional market producer for digital products by 2030

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is slated to become a regional market producer for digital products and digital solutions provider in the third phase (‪2026-2030‬) of the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint.

This includes having a data-driven government, where processes are highly digitalised and data is at the centre of its administration that connects the society, businesses and government.

The blueprint also envisions high ease of doing business, where the government provides a highly conducive environment for businesses to start and operate, as well as a high-quality pool of digital talent and an inclusive digital society.

It also aims to increase cyber security awareness among businesses and society members.

The targets in the third phase include having 85 per cent end-to-end online government services to be integrated, more than 50,000 intellectual property ownerships by 2030, and 2,500 My Digital Maker Champion Schools by 2030.

The blueprint also calls for 75 per cent of Malaysians being aware of cyber security and cybercrime, and 60 per cent of cybercrime cases being able to be prosecuted.

The blueprint was released in conjunction with the launch of MyDIGITAL today.

Launched by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, MyDIGITAL sets the direction for the digital economy and for building the foundation to drive digitalisation across the nation.

To realise the aspirations of MyDIGITAL, the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint is formulated as the action plan to outline the efforts and initiatives which will be implemented up to 2030.

Meanwhile, “digital transformers” will be developed to groom civil servants, comprising technical experts and professional information and communications technology (ICT)-related talent. With the creation of a pool of highly-skilled civil servants who will steer the digital transformation, there will also be reduced dependency on external vendors or experts in technical services.

This will be done during Phase 1 and Phase 2 (‪2021-2025‬), whereby the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) and the Public Service Department target to produce 250 certified trainers under Digital Government Competency and Capability Readiness Programme by 2025.

“This initiative aims to develop two pools of in-house talent, namely specialised technical talent including data scientists, cyber security experts and programmers as well as subject matter experts with skills to plan and execute a strategic digital agenda such as employees with experience in economy, supply-chain management, and business development and planning.

“This includes creating attractive career paths to retain talent and long-term plans for continuous training and upskilling in technical areas,” the blueprint said.

MAMPU will be positioned as the sole agency to drive public sector digital transformation. It will be transformed to better drive digitalisation and respond to rapidly evolving digital technology by 2022.

It will also be granted a greater mandate in enforcement and to act as an advisor, project member or subject matter expert on nationwide digital-related projects.

Besides this, the civil servants would be upskilled with digital skills, across all grades and schemes with the aimed 100 per cent of them (civil servants) to possess digital literacy in 2025.

All federal and state level agencies have to adopt cashless payments as the preferred method for more efficient transactions by 2022.

The use of internet and technology advancement contributes to the rapid growth of data, which is the future commodity.

Under the blueprint, six strategic thrusts have been identified -- drive digital transformation in the public sector; boost economic competitiveness through digitalisation; build enabling digital infrastructure; build agile and competent digital talent; create an inclusive digital society; and build trusted, secure and ethical digital environment.

These strategic thrusts are supported by 22 strategies, 48 national initiatives and 28 sectoral initiatives.

-- BERNAMA