Malaysia Should Ensure Vibrant Digital Economy - Expert

KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 (Bernama) -- Malaysia should ensure its digital economy sector is well-prepared and vibrant to leverage on the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)'s larger market, says an expert. HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd Chief Executive Officer Mukhtar Hussain said the information and technology (ICT) industry was expected to grow between 12 and 14 per cent or US$19.35 billion (RM79 billion) and US$19.84 billion (RM81 billion) next year, contributed mainly by e-commerce and big data analytics. "A robust ecosystem consisting world-class ICT talents to meet growing technological demands and digital infrastructure for seamless connectivity needs to be in place. "Schools must emphasise digital literacy skills and computational thinking to bridge the talent gap in understanding ICT so that Malaysian youths can become digital savvy," he said in a statement. Mukhtar said Malaysia must also adopt and intensify the use of technology to ensure it was able to stay competitive, globally. He also pointed out that the widespread digital technology was critical to amplify the impact on productivity, innovation and standard of living across the wider economy. "It also empowers people and confers national competitive advantage," he said, adding that Malaysia had realised this early and was well on its way to creating an innovative digital economy. --BERNAMA