Major e-Commerce Boost
As I mentioned earlier , with a view to becoming a high-income knowledge-based society , MDEC has spearheaded high-impact Government initiatives as well . One such move is the establishment of the country ’ s Digital Free Trade Zone ( DFTZ ).
Digital Free Trade Zone DFTZ is an initiative by the Malaysian Government , implemented through MDEC that aims to capitalise on the confluence and exponential growth of cross-border e-Commerce activities that are happening within digital economy . First announced in March 2017 , DFTZ facilitated seamless cross-border trading and e-Commerce , which enabled Malaysian SMEs to export their goods internationally .
On November 3 , 2017 Malaysia ’ s Prime Minister and Jack Ma opened the first ever eWTP ( electronic world trade platform ) hub outside of China at a Kuala Lumpur ceremony , which also flagged off 1,900 export-ready small and medium enterprises ( SMEs ).
On the public-sector perspective , the Malaysian Government has introduced a new category of certified locations called the Malaysia Digital Hubs for the start-up community in the digital economy . This is achieved through multiple public-private collaborations to offer unique value propositions such as ubiquitous hyper-speed broadband , hot-desking , mentoring and coaching services .
Looking Ahead
Another thing we must do from the fundamentals – human capital , investments – concerns the ecosystem . One of the most critical ecosystems that we are putting our focus on is - as I put it last year - the “ dance floor ”. The BDA “ dance floor ” is one of the most important and is really anchored around talent development ; data scientists , data modellers , and analysts . At the end of the day , though , whatever transformation needs to happen needs to be driven by the private sector . We as Government can only create the “ dance floor ” but the actual dancing is still with the private sector .
In an ever-changing innovative world , Malaysia needs to remain steadfast on the Digital Malaysia road and to ensure we become the lead in key areas of enabling fundamentals . We are extremely inspired that we are moving in that direction with the Malaysian Government focused on accelerating growth and enhancing the wellbeing of the rakyat .
Looking ahead , Malaysia ’ s Digital Economy is envisioning 20 % of GDP by 2020 . With a sustained push by all stakeholders , the Digital Economy contribution has good potential to reach the targeted value of RM324.9 billion by 2020 , as set out in the 11 th Malaysia Plan .
An important part of MDEC ’ s championing of the digital economy embraces digital inclusivity across all communities . We are passionate about inspiring everyone to use digital within our Digital Malaysia journey so that the digital economy ’ s success can be shared by all .
The eRezeki and eUsahawan initiatives were launched in 2016 to target key communities such as youth , SMEs , digital entrepreneurs and the B40 . eRezeki is a programme for Malaysians to earn supplementary income online , while eUsahawan is a digital entrepreneurship programme helping the general public with basic business fundamentals to enhance their online sales .
So to amplify the nationwide impact of the eRezeki and eUsahawan initiatives , we developed our # YouCanDuit multichannel campaign using carnivals , roadshows , with other musical and entertainment components . Close to 200,000 people attended the on-ground events , while our multiple channel campaign included a successful partnership with not just Astro , but with other stations as well such as TV 3 and RTM , and succeeded in creating a phenomenon in building the awareness of # YouCanDuit programmes . We have consistently reached out to 10 million viewers in the past two years .
2018 will continue to see the growth of digital economy , as indicated in the budget announced in 2017 . The vision is to turn Malaysia into a regional hub for digital economy . The Government , together with MDEC , are gearing up towards turning that vision into reality as we steadfastly activate our plan .
I am delighted to reaffirm the message that these times are among the best of times for us Malaysians , to ensure we are part of the Digital Malaysia journey and so share the success of the dawning Digital Economy !
11