Play Your Roles In M'sian Digital Economy, Industry Players Told

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 23 (Bernama) -- The government Wednesday urged all players in the technology-related industry to play their respective roles and innovate correspondingly in order to spur the growth of Malaysian digital economy. Deputy Minister of Communications and Multimedia Jailani Johari said this was important as the contribution of digital economy towards Malaysian Growth Domestic Product (GDP) was recorded at 17.8 per cent in 2015, and was expected to reach 20 per cent by 2020. "The ministry will play a key role in accelerating digital economy for the nation where US$225.97 million (RM1 billion) will be spent to improve infrastructure around the nation, as well as rolling out digital platforms on which services will ride. (US$1 = RM4.42) "These are the things that government can and will do to facilitate the growth of the digital economy. You (industry players) will also need to play your part and innovate correspondingly," Jailani said when opening the PIKOM Leadership Summit 2016, themed 'The Age of Disruptive Technology', here Wednesday. On the summit's theme, Jailani said, the technology had been developing in such a fast pace where almost everything had been a disruptive technology. The deputy minister said, the implications of disruptive technology were so great as they had changed the way society look at the world, the way people educate themselves, how information was spread and managed, as well as how businesses were done in this era. "To survive and to succeed, we need to innovate. That is why we often heard the phase - disrupt or be disrupted," he said. Speaking to reporters later, Jailani said the government, through the ministry, the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission and the Malaysian Digital Economic Corporation wanted to work closely with the industry players in a bid to boost the digital economy in the country. "It was hoped that the merrier the economy, the more related industry players would be interested to join in, especially in the efforts to create a conducive environment for e-commerce industry in Malaysia," he added. -- BERNAMA