Jack Ma says MSC inspired him to establish Alibaba

KUALA LUMPUR: Alibaba’s Jack Ma was inspired to establish his company following the successful launch of Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) in 1997.

The Alibaba Group Co-Founder and Executive Chairman revealed this at the launch of the company’s first national office in Malaysia at Bangsar South here yesterday.

“I was ecstatic when reading the news on MSC. It crossed my mind then if Malaysia could do it, why not me?

“This was my dream 20 years ago, and when I met with Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad this morning, I thanked him for inspiring me,” he said during the launch.

MSC Malaysia, a Special Economic Zone and high-technology business district, was launched on Feb 12, 1996 by Dr Mahathir when he was the fourth Prime Minister.

Dr Mahathir returned to office as the seventh Prime Minister after the Pakatan Harapan coalition won the 14th General Election.

The establishment of the MSC was crucial to accelerate the objectives of Vision 2020 and to transform Malaysia into a modern state by 2020 through the adoption of a knowledge-based society framework.

Alibaba was started in 1999 in Hangzhou, China by Ma and his partner Peng Lei.

Earlier yesterday, Ma met with Dr Mahathir at his office and he was impressed by the Prime Minister’s knowledge on technology.

“It was a fantastic meeting. We talked about using technology to create jobs, empower small businesses and farmers, as well as, to train as many young people as possible. We believe in the young people,” he said