MITI Will Not Relent In Crafting Solid Policies To Make Malaysia A Competitive Preferred Investment Destination, Says Zafrul

The Malaysian Government needs to review and enact the appropriate Information & Communication Technology (ICT) laws and policies to be more in line with regional and international standards, from cybersecurity, data localisation, cloud services to trade agreements and regulations to face external headwinds.

The government has been providing attractive incentives in digital transformation, connectivity, security, digital infrastructure, 5G ecosystem, intelligent automation and many other areas of ICT, said Minister of International Trade & Industry Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz adding, he was hopeful that similar policies will also be reflected in retabling of Budget 2023 in Parliament on February 24th.

The minister said this at the Artroniq Berhad & Beno, Inc Signing Ceremony Event held today (Jan 11) in Kuala Lumpur which is seen to be a new corporate milestone for Malaysia in this new year where he reminded the attendees that looking back over the past few years, Malaysia has been through enormous challenges caused by internal and external factors.

Mostly, the nation has dealt with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global impact of Russia-Ukraine conflict, the changes of the domestic political landscape – all these make up for what is arguably the toughest period the nation has had to face in the last few decades. But we pulled through “Thanks to our responsive and responsible policies, we managed to record a 14.2% GDP growth in the third quarter of 2022 and bring unemployment from its peak of 5.3% in May 2020, down to 3.6% in September 2022, he said.

What about this year, when economic and trade growths are expected to suffer a sharp and prolonged slowdown? he asked, in fact, the World Bank just issued a warning that sharp, long-lasting slowdown will hit developing countries hard.

Moving forward, what is key is what policies we can introduce to prepare our people and businesses to face these future challenges, said Zafrul, adding against that backdrop, the Malaysia’s economy is still projected to grow between 4% and 5% in 2023, supported by steady domestic demand, a vibrant services sector, implementation of new and ongoing high multiplier infrastructure projects and sustained exports.

“On MITI’s part, our focus is on strengthening industries’ resilience to ensure that our trade and exports are at least maintained for this year, or if they face a dip, if any, then the dip in exports is not too drastic and we must encourage manufacturers to invest, so that they can ride the growth momentum when the global economy recovers,” he said in his opening address at the event.

He added he would like to specifically highlight the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry, one of the few sectors that has seen exponential growth since the onset of the pandemic.

He explained in 2021, ICT contributed 22.6% to the country’s GDP. The sector is expected to grow from US$16.5 billion in 2019 to an estimated US$25.2 billion in 2023.The digitalisation of operations across all major sectors will be a decisive factor in securing Malaysia’s role in the future global economy. One silver lining of the pandemic are numerous tech-based innovations, which have exponentially increased our understanding of the potential that technology can offer.

From the development and distribution of vaccines, businesses transitioning to online operations, to tackling climate change and bringing about greater inclusivity through online learning, the critical role of technology as both an enabler and a social equalizer has never been clearer.

Zafrul said connectivity facilitated by 5G, for example, will revolutionize the way Malaysians live and work in the future. 5G will further enable and speed up the adoption of 4IR technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, quantum computing/processing, the Internet of Things, cobots, augmented reality and virtual reality, 3D and 4D printing. All these will result in futuristic solutions that will be made more available to not only industries but also individuals, to help us perform more complex tasks, alongside an upgraded level of convenience, safety and style.

To achieve this, he will ensure that MITI crafts and promotes solid policies to make Malaysia a preferred investment destination and among the most competitive trading nations in the world. The government has  always been supportive of the growth of the ICT industry, given its promising and unlimited future potential for the nation’s growth.

This has taken many forms, one of which was seen today with the collaboration between Artroniq and Beno, Inc, which demonstrates the confidence of the market, not only of this industry, but also of the local and global economy in leading toward more opportunities and possibilities.

Zafrul added that he would like to assure manufacturers, investors and industries that MITI will continue to monitor global developments as well as implement appropriate policies and reform initiatives to strengthen our industries’ resilience to help exporters withstand potential external shocks, and directly protect jobs and people’s livelihoods.

Artroniq Berhad is an investment holding company listed on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad, which focuses on the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry by providing cutting-edge services and ICT products, while BENO+ pioneers the transition towards an electric future in building desirable EV two-wheelers and intelligent energy storage solutions.

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