The digital economy is growing rapidly and has the potential of turning Malaysia into one of the world’s economic powerhouses.
Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo (main image) said this will, in return, create more revenue for the nation.
“By 2025, the digital economy is projected to contribute 25.5 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), compared to the current 23 per cent,” said Gobind.
“As such, I urge industry players to adapt, and move in line with the current economic wave, and help the nation’s digital economy grow.”
Gobind said this after launching MydinPay, an eWallet mobile application by local wholesaler and retailer Mydin, in Subang Jaya, on June 25. Gobind added the application was significant, and in line with changing lifestyles, with more and more consumers using technology in their daily lives.
Here’s a roundup of the Digital Ministry’s initiatives this week.
The U-Digitaloka programme was launched at Universiti Teknologi Mara on June 24. Themed ‘Transforming Tomorrow’, the programme is a strategic collaboration between the ministry and the varsity’s Media Studies and Communications Faculty. It is aimed at promoting the ministry’s initiatives and the ‘digital-first’ mindset among the masses.
The programme serves as a platform to showcase the concept of a digital government, digital community, and digital economy to undergraduates, while encouraging them to explore the potential of the digital market.
Meanwhile, Fabian Bigar was named the ministry’s secretary-general, effective June 24. The Sarawakian was previously the chief executive officer of MyDigital Corporation.
Gobind met Indian High Commissioner to Malaysia, B.N. Reddy, on June 26. The duo discussed several matters, including digital governance, digital knowledge-sharing, and insights on the animation, and game design industries.
The minister also met representatives from Mesolitica, a Multimodality Artificial Intelligence developer for Southeast Asia. Gobind was briefed about the world of generative artificial intelligence (AI), Large Language Models (LLM) and Mesolitica’s homegrown AI model – MaLLaM 2.0.
MaLLaM 2.0 is a multilingual Malaysian chat language model developed by local talents. It is capable of performing natural language processing (NLP) tasks, including answering questions and engaging in conversations in local languages, such as Bahasa Melayu, Mandarin and Tamil.