During his keynote at the inaugural Malaysia Tech Week 2019 (MTW 2019), the Minister of Communications and Multimedia, Mr. Gobind Singh Deo, took a walk down memory lane to 1997 when Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was the country’s prime minister.
That was the year when MDEC (Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation), or MDC (Multimedia Development Corporation) as it was known then, was first established, with the clear mandate of leading and driving Malaysia’s digital economy forward.
He pointed out that since then till 2018, MSC has had a cumulative total investment of over RM300 billion, and created over 160,000 jobs. Now 23 years later, Tun Mahathir is back at the helm of government, and it is timely that the government is taking a different approach to growing the tech ecosystem.
Mr. Gobind pointed out that the government is taking a more consultative approach to collectively harness the strength and energy of the ecosystem. “My ministry, at the beginning of this year, decided to form a council to act as a platform for the private sector to propose digital tech initiatives. It’s called the Malaysia Innovation Policy Council (MIPC) and is chaired by MDEC with participation from industry experts, seasoned innovators and startups, reputable funding partners and other government agencies such as MaGIC, Cradle and Futurise.”
New MDEC CEO, Surina Shukri
He continued by saying he hoped the ecosystem would use the council to suggest ways to streamline processes, improve access to markets and fundings, as well as revise regulations to ensure the government can cater to fast-changing needs of the industry.
After recognising that the inaugural event is the platform for everything tech and digital, he concluded with his hope that MTW19 will build networks and lasting partnerships among all digital and technology players.
“This industry needs your passion, innovation and investments to grow and evolve,” he said. New MDEC CEO, Surina Shukri gave opening remarks for the event which has gathered over 230 speakers across more than 20 locations all over Kuala Lumpur.
