New Straits Times

Policies to help boost Connected Economy

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MALAYSIA still faces key challenges despite the various initiative­s to transform the nation into a Connected Economy.

These include low technology adoption among small and medium enterprise­s, digital disparity between rural and urban areas as well as between Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak, high cost and slow Internet speed.

According to the Economic Report 2016/2017, the rakyat must leverage on the social and economic benefits of the Connected Economy to improve their wellbeing and simplify daily transactio­ns.

Focus would be given on shifting society from being content consumers to content producers to generate more income while policies will continue to be formulated and refined to meet the challenges and opportunit­ies brought about by Connected Economy.

In Malaysia, there are about 21 million Internet users while the mobile penetratio­n rate has reached 143.8 per cent of the population. The large subscripti­on base is supported by higher demand for connected devices such as smartphone­s and tablets.

The government is also stepping up efforts to ensure that public agencies and businesses embrace There are about Nik Omar

and capitalise on digital disruption­s.

Emphasis is given on four areas, namely Internet of Things, big data

in Malaysia. and analytics, cloud computing and e-commerce as well as niche areas where Malaysia has comparativ­e advantage.

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Pic by Nik Abdullah
21 million Internet users Pic by Nik Abdullah

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