The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) in collaboration with the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia (MCMC) has launched the #SayaDigital movement to empower Malaysians with digital skills and technologies.
In a statement today, MDEC said the movement’s primary aim is to accelerate a digital society and spur the country towards a digital leap into the era of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR), to achieve Malaysia’s shared prosperity vision.
It said #SayaDigital has four primary goals, namely to make life convenient, boost income, empower careers and accelerate business expansion.
For the month of August, #SayaDigital will feature several MDEC-led capacity-building programmes, providing businesses with various means to go digital and enabling Malaysians to be digitally skilled with speed and at scale.
The first two weeks of the movement focused on scaling digital adoption among businesses, while the subsequent two weeks provide opportunities for Malaysians to learn and enhance digital skills.
The recently held SME Digital Summit, which is the first of its kind in Malaysia, successfully attracted over one million digital participants during the three days.
The participants learned and implemented digital solutions to restart or expand their businesses.
The period of 21 August to 30 August 2020 has been reserved for initiatives such as The Young Creators, #MYDigitalWorkforce Week and Gig and Freelance Expo (GFX), focusing on cultivating digital skills and talents, enhancing the capability of Malaysians to monetise their new abilities, and matching digital jobs with the right talents.
The contents, which will be fully virtualised, consist of webinar sessions, panel discussions and digital engagement opportunities. There will also be digital career fairs, online competitions and other satellite events over the two weeks.
Many of the talks and keynote sessions will have industry and public sector experts sharing the latest trends, insights and thoughts on the new norm with advice on what the businesses should be ready for.
Developing local SMEs digital skills
SMEs, more than any other business segment, will see big digital transformation over the next few years and are therefore an essential participant in Malaysia 5.0, OpenGov Asia previously reported.
Malaysia 5.0 outlines a problem-solving approach to society’s challenges and problems through the deployment and implementation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies which integrates both physical and digital environments.
It stems from the term “Society 5.0” which describes the next stage of the evolution of societal communities, following the hunting society (Society 1.0), agricultural society (Society 2.0), industrial society (Society 3.0), and information society (Society 4.0).
Society 5.0 underpins MDEC’s strategy aimed at delivering such solutions to Malaysians across all economic classes, and especially SMEs hit by the Covid-19 crisis, in facing the challenging economic environment ahead.
Digital transformation, from e-commerce solutions, training and education, and integration onto common platforms, will improve lifestyles and enable independence for those that implement them proactively.
At the same time, the big data revolution will empower SMEs to fully flex their considerable influence in the economy. Today they face multiple challenges such as lack of business connections, limited awareness of technology, lack of access to funding, education and training, and poor internet presence in a world going full-on digital.
Malaysia 5.0, if properly implemented, can directly address their inclusion, access, performance and growth through 4IR tools such as Fintech, Blockchain, Analytics and AI. Digitalization offers new opportunities for SMEs to participate in the global economy, innovate, and grow.