Digital economy benefits filter down to people, organisations - Najib

The benefits of Malaysia's digital economy initiative have begun to filter down to the people and organisations, and among the largest group of beneficiaries are Malaysians in the bottom 40 percent of the income pyramid, said Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

The Prime Minister in his opening remarks at the 27th MSC Malaysia Implementation Council Meeting here today said they had benefited through initiatives such as eRezeki that enabled them to earn additional income via digital means.

Najib, who is also Finance Minister, said that the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) would be taking the concept of digital income for the rakyat to another level with the introduction of eUsahawan.

Sharing success stories of the eRezeki initiative, Najib cited examples about a self-employed Kuala Lumpur man, Yazid Mohd Zaiki, who over a span of two months earned almost RM2,000 by performing simple digital tasks while an executive secretary from Sawarak, Bong NN, earned over RM600 by performing photo moderation tasks.

"Beyond achievements in the capital economy, the benefits of our national digital economy initiative have begun to filter down to the people and organisations that matter," he said.

Parallel with the drive to raise the earning ability and standard of living of the people were the concerted efforts to empower the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through digital means, in particular e-commerce, he said.

He said the MDeC's push for a landmark e-commerce event, #MYCyberSALE, which is similar to Cyber Monday in the United States, concluded its second annual run with record sales of RM115 million, almost double last year's figure.

Additionally, Najib said Malaysia was putting in place the foundation to capitalise on the myriad of opportunities offered by disruptive technologies such as Big Data Analytics (BDA) and Internet of Things (IoT), which have been incorporated into the 11th Malaysia Plan.

"For Malaysia to build a vibrant digital economy, it is critical to have a robust enabling ecosystem consisting of world-class information and communications technology (ICT) talent to meet growing technologies demand and digital infrastructure for seamless connectivity," he said.

Najib said the country's digital economy was heading in the right direction, achieving 17 percent contribution to the national gross domestic product in 2014, which is the target initially set for 2020.

He said MSC Malaysia, which is fundamental to the national digital economy, has contributed over RM295 billion in revenue to the Malaysian economy, RM283 billion worth of investments and more than 147,000 jobs since its inception in 1996.

MSC Malaysia is the national ICT initiative designed to attract world-class technology companies while grooming the local ICT industry.

"MSC Malaysia also continues to attract investments from world-class and cutting-edge companies in a wide range of industries," he said.

Najib said he was pleased to see the progress MDeC had made, particularly in strengthening the Digital Malaysia national agenda.

"I am confident that MDeC will continue to play an important role as a catalyst for ICT and the driver of the digital economy," he added.

"Today, new opportunities are regularly derived from the innovation and adoption of digital technologies.

"Indeed, the digital world continues to pervade every aspect of our lives from cradle to grave, leading to a new environment of hyperconnectivity," he said.

The meeting were attended by, among others Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa, Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak and MDeC Chief Executive Officer Datuk Yasmin Mahmood.