MDEC will drive digital agenda with launch Of Twelfth Malaysia Plan

• MDEC welcomes government’s focus on digitalisation
• Will focus on reducing the digital divide, attracting high quality digital investments

Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) welcomes the emphasis on digital and technology for the nation's development in the Twelfth Malaysia Plan (12MP) announced by YAB Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

The five-year (2021–2025) plan – themed “A prosperous, inclusive, sustainable Malaysia” aims to steer Malaysia out of the Covid-19 pandemic effect and put the economy back on track. Efforts to achieve this will focus on digitalising micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to broaden market access and facilitating strategic and quality digital investment.

The 12MP also includes the positioning of Malaysia as the ASEAN digital centre, given the country’s strong capability in cybersecurity solutions and digital content products.

In a statement, MDEC said it will intensify efforts to encourage MSMEs to adopt digital technologies in production, processes, and business services, mainly in the back-end of business operations. 

“The focus on digitalising MSMEs and to position Malaysia as the ASEAN digital centre through the 12MP reaffirms the impact of MDEC’s twin initiatives of #SayaDigital and Malaysia Heart of Digital ASEAN,” said Mahadhir Aziz, chief executive officer, MDEC.

“We will continue to push forward initiatives to establish a progressive and inclusive digital economy in line with our vision as well as the goals of the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDIGITAL),” he added. 

MDEC’s initiatives such as eRezeki, eUsahawan and Global Online Workforce have collectively brought more than USD$513.8 million (RM2.153 billion) in income generated. More recently, it has kicked off the 2021 edition of the 100 Go Digital Coaching programme, which aims to enable businesses in key sectors to move towards digitalising their businesses to remain competitive, sustainable, and profitable amidst the pandemic.

[RM1 = US$0.239]

The company kickstarted the Go-eCommerce onboarding and Shop Malaysia online campaigns that will benefit 300,000 local businesses by helping onboard them into eCommerce and ePayment platforms. From 2017 to 2020, it has helped 489,000 SMEs adopt ecommerce, with companies using e-commerce for export growing from 1,800 to 27,000.

The Digital Investments Future5 strategy, a five-year plan focusing on five key thrusts, is aimed at attracting investments and advancing Malaysia’s digital economy. By 2025, MDEC aims to have landed catalytic and high-quality digital investments to unlock new drivers of growth, which will be supported and facilitated by the Digital Investment Office.

Its initiatives are also aimed towards reskilling and upskilling new and existing workforce for the digital economy. The Digital Skills Training Directory, for instance, serves as a one-stop guide to digital reskilling and upskilling via a catalogue of 250 courses and online training providers that have been specifically reviewed and endorsed by its Talent Expert Network.

MDEC has also been key to the development of the Malaysian cybersecurity and digital creative content industry. MATRIX is a collaboration programme between the government and industries to provide solutions with the aim to manage SME cybersecurity challenges and act as a catalyst for the success of SMEs in the era of digital economy.

Since 2019, MDEC has led the development of the Digital Content Ecosystem Policy, which aims to fortify the local digital content industry and position Malaysia as a leader in digital content creation and production.