The Malaysian Government has established the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, an independent centre within the World Economic Forum, to support the achievement of Malaysia’s overarching vision under its 4IR Policy launched in 2021, as well as the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint.
The aim of the centre is to accelerate technology adoption that will help secure more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable growth for Malaysia as the economy recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic. The establishment of this centre, also the first in Southeast Asia, highlights the government’s commitment to prioritising technology as a key catalyst for economic growth and post-pandemic recovery, as well as supporting its aspiration to be a regional leader in the digital economy.
The “C4IR” will be part of the Forum’s global network for multi-stakeholder co-operation to realise the benefits of emerging and innovative technology. Through its current network of centres globally, the C4IR is seen as pioneering an agile and human-centred model of tech-focused policy development and implementation.
“Malaysia is accelerating its digital transformation journey, and our ability to leverage 4IR technologies such as artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, renewable energies and quantum computing will be one of the leading drivers for the nation’s sustainable, resilient and inclusive economic growth in decades to come. To this end, having the C4IR helps ensure that Malaysia’s choice of technologies and their interaction across the physical, digital and biological domains will serve humanity not just materially, but also meaningfully said Tengku Zafrul at the side-lines of the World Economic Forum Meetings in Davos.
Once established, the centre will be managed by the Economic Planning Unit in the Prime Minister’s Department, with programmes to be crafted and implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Communications & Multimedia and Ministry of Science, Technology & Innovation.
Key target beneficiaries of Malaysia’s 4IR agenda include youths, social enterprises, businesses and the public sector.
