Malaysia participates in New Economy workshop at Alibaba Business School

  • Four-day workshop at Alibaba’s headquarters in Hangzhou, China.
  • Enhancement of existing cooperation between Malaysia and China

 

(From left) Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Sim Tze Tzin; Miti Minister Darell Leiking; and Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma

IN LINE with the national agenda to further grow Malaysia’s digital economy, delegates from the Government of Malaysia participated in Alibaba Business School’s New Economy Workshop (NEW) held at Alibaba Group’s headquarters in Hangzhou, China.

The Malaysian delegation was led by Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI) Darell Leiking, and also represented by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Sim Tze Tzin and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) chief executive officer Surina Shukri.

The workshop was aimed at empowering participants through an increase in knowledge and understanding of the key elements for the development of Malaysia's digital economy.

The Malaysian senior officials represented nineteen Ministries and Agencies that have direct involvement in the policy making of Malaysia's national digital economy and e-commerce industry, namely:

  1. Prime Minister’s Department
  2. Ministry of International Trade and Industry
  3. Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry
  4. Office of the Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia
  5. Ministry of Economic Affairs
  6. Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  7. Ministry of Finance
  8. Ministry of Entrepreneur Development
  9. Ministry of Transport
  10. Ministry of Youth and Sports
  11. Ministry of Education
  12. Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs
  13. Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation
  14. Royal Malaysian Customs Department
  15. Central Bank of Malaysia
  16. Malaysian Investment Development Authority
  17. Malaysia External Trade Development Cooperation
  18. Invest KL
  19. Kuala Lumpur City Hall

The workshop was conducted pursuant to the official visit by the Prime Minister of Malaysia Dr Mahathir Mohamad to China in August last year, where he and Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group had agreed to cooperate on capacity building programmes in the areas of digital economy and e-commerce.

 

The Malaysian delegation with Alibaba founder Jack Ma

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the workshop, Leiking thanked Alibaba Group for organising the New Economy workshop which marks a key milestone in the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China.

The workshop elevates the level of cooperation between the two countries, including via public-private engagements, namely with the Alibaba Group, given the latter’s pioneering experience in the global e-commerce sector.

“This programme also signifies another important milestone in the Government’s commitment to drive the country’s digital economy agenda through capacity-building programmes for Malaysian senior officials who are responsible for formulating and implementing policies and programmes in digital-economy related fields, in particular e-commerce,” said Leiking.

He further added, “The workshop encourages senior officials to be sensitised to digital economic friendly elements in formulating and implementing of policies, initiatives and programs at the national level. The participants are expected to become trainers in their Ministries and agencies, which in return enhances the human capital development in the area of digital economy.

“Ultimately, the well-trained officials will strengthen the joint-ministries efforts in implementing the National e-Commerce Strategic Roadmap (NeSR), 2016-2020, towards achieving greater economic growth and societal well-being in Malaysia.”

Ma said, “The digital economy provides a level playing field to economies in Asia. It is also poised to be a huge growth driver for developing economies. We hope more small businesses and young people will embrace the digital economy and achieve the success they deserve.”

According to Surina, "Alibaba’s ecosystem has enabled millions of people to participate in the global economy through the use of technology. Hence, it is important for Malaysia, in our efforts in driving the country’s digital economy, to move up the learning curve rapidly, by using the Alibaba experience as our guide."

The New Economy workshop is the latest example of Alibaba's ongoing commitment to support Malaysia's economic development.

The Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ) Pilot Project, which went live in November 2017, under Alibaba’s Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) initiative, has institutionalised some of the trade facilitation measures undertaken by the Government.

A growing number of Malaysian companies have started to export via the DFTZ, and this will increase as industry players understand the value of participating in this initiative.

Following on from this workshop, the Alibaba Business School, in partnership with MDEC, Matrade and SME Corp Malaysia will organise a programme called “Alibaba Netpreneur Training Malaysia Programme”, aimed at providing local Malaysian entrepreneurs and business leaders with opportunities to harness digital technology, in order to transform their businesses and the local economy.

The 10-day programme will be held from March 23 – April 3. 2019 and April 13 – 24, 2019 at the headquarters of Alibaba in Hangzhou.

 

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