Awg Tengah: S’wak to fast-track digital transformation, innovation devt in coming years

KUCHING (Nov 20): Sarawak will be fast-tracking its development in Digital Transformation and Innovation in the coming years, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan.

He said as part of the initiatives developed under the Sarawak Economic Council (SEAC), this development would help boost Sarawak’s economic competitiveness and lay the foundation for it to become an attractive investment destination in the region.

“The Sarawak Government on May 6, 2020 announced the formation of Sarawak Economic Council or SEAC to facilitate post Covid-19 recovery at the state level.

“The various initiatives developed under SEAC would complement the National Economic Recovery Plan while accelerating the economic recovery and growth in Sarawak to be at par with our counterparts in Peninsular Malaysia and globally by achieving developed-economy status by the year 2030,” said Awang Tengah.

The Minister of International Trade and Industry, Industrial Terminal and Entrepreneur Development was speaking during a virtual launching ceremony of the Malaysia Mudah (#MyMudah) initiative by the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC) today.

Also participating in the virtual launching ceremony was MPC director-general Dato’ Abdul Latif Abu Seman.

Acknowledging the effectiveness of the #MyMudah initiative, Awang Tengah said it had helped resolve several issues faced by businesses in Sarawak which were struggling to stay afloat amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The main objective of #MyMudah is to assist the industry and business operators to overcome bureaucratic regulations and to reduce the compliance costs applicable to companies and businesses.

“Thus the implementation of #MyMudah is aimed to achieve 25 per cent or equivalent to RM10 billion reduction in compliance costs in the public sector,” he said.

Awang Tengah also noted that several issues faced by the business community in the state have been resolved under the #MyMudah initiative.

Among them he revealed were the issuance of export permit for floriculture products and processed foods; issuance of ‘Clearance Letter’ by technical agencies regarding the Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC); poultry license issues related to the construction of modern (closed) poultry farming; and ​relaxation of regulatory requirements for licensed operators in the tourism industry.

On that note, Awang Tengah stressed that digitalisation and automation is paramount to ensure business sustainability in the state.

“The pandemic has shifted the landscape of business operations towards more innovation and productive activities. This will undoubtedly result in the enhancement of process efficiency and reduce the dependency on labour which will ultimately improve productivity of the businesses.

“The adoption of Industry 4.0 technology assumes an important role in ensuring business profitability especially in recovery, restructuring of supply chains and enabling Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to become more competitive, agile and creative,” he said.

He said with the state spearheading its Digital Economy Transformation through its five-year Sarawak Digital Economy Strategy from 2018 to 2022), its strategy was to set out the possible directions it could take in order to leapfrog to the digital forefront.

He said that one of the directions was by building, developing and scouting the best talents that are innovative, digital-savvy and industry-ready, that would assist in developing the human resource needs for the state’s Digital Economy in the years ahead.

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