The Ministry of Digital welcomes efforts to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) adopt digital technology as part of Malaysia’s journey to digital excellence.
SMEs are the backbone of Malaysia’s economy, accounting for about 97% of total businesses in the country.
The Ministry of Digital remains steadfast in supporting businesses and industries through digitalisation. We will continue to push the adoption of 5G technology, and improve the nationwide 5G coverage, which is currently around 81.7%. This will allow our businesses and citizens to harness the benefits of faster digital connectivity.
We are further looking into fostering the development of localised AIs, which not only preserve our sovereignty in this field, but also allow our SMEs to benefit from smaller and more context-aware models.
I am confident the Alibaba Cloud Digital Accelerator Programme will encourage more SMEs to tap on cloud and AI technology to scale their growth into Malaysia's next unicorn.
The Alibaba Cloud Digital Accelerator Programme complements the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint, as it will help develop a skilled digital workforce while fostering digital fluency.
As the government works on friendly policies to encourage the building and strengthening of infrastructures and create regulations that champion digital trust, we certainly welcome moves to create a more digitally-savvy workforce.
The Ministry of Digital and our agencies have been playing an active role to boost local skilled talent, such as the partnership between Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and the Ministry of Higher Education which was formalised in June this year. MDEC also has a Premier Digital Tech Institutions (PDTIs) initiative that brings together key industry players and educational institutions to bridge the gap between industry demands and supply of local talents.
I welcome Alibaba Cloud’s effort to produce more local digital talents via three initiatives under the Alibaba Cloud Digital Accelerator Programme – the Alibaba Cloud Startup Catalysts, Alibaba Cloud Future Talents and the Alibaba Cloud ISV Growth. These efforts include training and certifying over 500 startups in Malaysia by the end of 2025 and providing USD120,000 in funding for eligible startups; delivering technology education resources to over 10,000 rural students; and setting up Alibaba Cloud Academy Skills Centres in at least five universities by 2025.
This is a continuation of Alibaba Cloud's digital skills empowerment, with over 20,000 Malaysians trained to date.
Under the Cloud ISV Growth initiative, I am told that Alibaba will groom 50 independent software vendors and equip them with cloud knowledge with a focus in AI and Machine Learning) to onboard 1,000 SME customers in their cloud journey.
I am confident that the collaboration between the Government and Alibaba Cloud will continue to yield successful outcomes and transformative benefits for Malaysia in the coming years.
Together, we can build a resilient and thriving digital future for Malaysia.
GOBIND SINGH DEO
MINISTER OF DIGITAL
ALIBABA CLOUD DIGITAL GOVERNMENT DAY 2024 MARRIOTT HOTEL, IOI RESORT CITY, PUTRAJAYA 1 AUG 2024
