Digitalisation, IoTs among key drivers to succeed NTP

KUALA LUMPUR: Digitalisation and the rise of Internet-ofThings (IoTs) will, among others, be the key drivers to succeed the National Transformation Programme (NTP), say experts.

Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Corporation Malaysia Deputy Chief Executive Officer Rizal Nainy said in light of the Industry 4.0, digitalisation would become an inevitable megatrend for industry players of various sectors to stay abreast of the new revolution.

For instance, with the launch of China’s Alibaba digital free trade zone (DFTZ) in Malaysia, the facility was slated to boom private investment and provide more career opportunities for the people, he said when commenting if digitalisation would elevate Malaysia towards becoming a high-income nation in 2020.

Besides, Rizal said the establishment of the Malaysia Digital Economy Corp (MDEC) has acted as a one-stop centre to facilitate SMEs’ applications to relocate them to the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC).

“The SMEs, which account for nearly 99 per cent of businesses and deemed as the backbone of Malaysia’s economy,is poised to benefit from the technology innovation,” he said.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who jointly launched the DFTZ with Alibaba Founder Jack Ma in March, said the free trade zone was the ecosystem of SMEs, and the e-hub was expected to see an increase in the value chain and create 60,000 new jobs.

Meanwhile, speaking of the I-oT, Adjunct Professor of Economics and Development Studies at University of Malaya Tan Sri Dr Kamal Mat Salih believed the adoption of automation would elevate Malaysia’s employment rate and improve foreign investment by 2020.

“Automation will not only increase productivity but reduce operational costs and business downtime.

“Of course, professional training must be provided to the employees to enrich their technical know-how in order to remain relevant in the workforce,” he told Bernama.

Introduced by the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) in 2010 , the NTP comprises two components, namely the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) and the Government Transformation Programme. — Bernama