IoT to boost country’s socio-economic growth

CYBERJAYA: Touted as the next wave of Internet evolution, the “Internet of Things” (IoT) will boost Malaysia’s socio-economic growth as it heads towards high-income nation status by 2020, a Cabinet minister said.

Science, Technology and Innovation minister Datuk Dr Ewon Ebin said the implementation of IoT is expected to contribute RM9.5bil to Malaysia’s Gross National Income (GNI) in 2020, and RM42.5bil by 2025.

“The Government’s move in embracing IoT is in line with its aspiration to put people’s well-being first and prioritising performance towards positioning Malaysia as a developed nation.

“IoT will transform government administration, the business landscape, the environment and every little aspect of our daily life,” said Dr Ewon, at the launch of the National IoT Strategic Roadmap here yesterday.

The IoT, in definition, is a situation where “things” are embedded with electronics, software or sensors, which enables it to transfer data over a network remotely.

For example, the “thing” could be a heart-monitoring implant or a car with a built-in sensor that alerts the driver of low tyre pressure.

Besides contributing to the GNI, Dr Ewon said the implementation of IoT will also generate a total of 14,270 high-skilled employment opportunities by 2020.

The roadmap, said the minister, is a guiding document on Malaysia’s strategic direction on IoT and also envisions the country to be “a premier regional IoT hub”.

“IoT will emerge as a new global phenomenon that will transform the lives of mankind to an entirely new level. This means the development and implementation of IoT require a clear guideline on data security, sovereignty, privacy and Intellectual Property management,” he said.

The event also saw Cyberjaya selected as a testbed or “living lab” for the implementation of IoT, where it will be developed as a “Smart and Safe City”.

As a start, Cyberview Sdn Bhd, the developer for Cyberjaya, will implement various IoTbased solutions such as smart traffic management system, public safety monitoring and energy management, among others.