SIBU: Abang Hashim Shah knows how important e-commerce is for his fertiliser business.
He believes without e-commerce, he will not survive in this competitive industry.
“I started my business five years ago but it was only two years later that I have begun to make full use of digital technology to promote my fertiliser,” he admits.
Operating from his house in Kuching, Abang Hashim, 51, makes full use of Facebook and whatsApp to market his products.
“Facebook and WhatsApp are, by far, the best channels to market my products because they are convenient and cheap to access by my customers,” he said.
“I send the products to customers by cargo lorry. If the order is small, I will send them by bus,” he said.
Sometimes, Abang Hashim will meet his customers in person to provide after-sales service or to explain his products.
A timber broker, Wong Kai Ping, 51, promotes his sawn timber and wood chips through a well-known China online market place owned by Alibaba.com
“People are very impressed with my products but the competition is very tough out there,” said Wong.
People like Abang Hashim and Wong believe that although they have yet to land major deals in the digital space, they are already a step in the right direction.
E-commerce or digital economy has suddenly become the buzzword in Sarawak after Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg called for the wider use of digital technology as a new way of doing business.
Abang Johari said for Sarawak to gain solid ground in its economy, the state needed to emphasise more on digital technology.
“Developed nations have progressed ahead of us because they have successfully migrated to an Internet-based economy,” he said.
The development of digital economy, he stressed, was the main driving force of future economic development in Sarawak.
“We must be brave and leap-frog into the future” stressed Abang Johari.
The chief minister has committed RM1bil to develop Sarawak’s digital infrastructure, aiming to increase Internet speed, which will help push more e-learning, e-government, e-banking, e-commerce activities. This include raising the number of telecommunication tower to 5,000 from 1,200 currently.
Sarawak’s broadband reach, as of the third quarter of last year, was at 51.8% of its 2.5 million population, according to Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
The state government’s target is to have 95% rate of broadband coverage in populated areas by 2020 and subsequently, 100% by 2030, with a minimum throughput of 30Mbps.
Digital economy, however, is still a very new platform for the state. The world has entered into the Fourth Industrial Revolution or 4.0 but Sarawak is stil in conventional mode of 2.0.
Government’s target
How will the state go about using information technology to achieve its objective and is the private sector and the public are ready for it?
There is so much to harness from digital economy. At the national front, the contribution of digital economy to Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) are expected to exceed the 20% target by 2020 from the current 17%.
Communication and Multimedia Deputy Minister Datuk Julaihi Johari was quoted as saying that the target could even be achieved earlier than 2020.
“This is in line with the Digital Free Trade Zone (DTFZ) launched in March and lately, the Malaysia Digital Hub,” he said.
Jailani said the global digital economy had been growing at a rate of 10% a year, more than triple the rate of overall global economic growth.
South-East Asia’s digital economy is expected to increase 6.5 folds over the next decade to US$200bil (RM858bil).
Sibu Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) president Dr Hii Sui Cheng said the digital plan was a gamechanger but this new approach must be implemented properly and efficiently.
“One of the most significant events was when AirAsia started encouraging customers to book air ticket online.
“Because of AirAsia, the number of people flying has increased tremendously,” he said.
He said Sarawak folk must jump on the e-commerce bandwagon quickly or else they would be left out.
“Digital economy is the way forward for the state especially when its population is small and where its market is limited. As e-commerce is about buying and selling of products, we need to utilise ICT to sell our products for the global market,” he said.
“With this policy still at its early stage of implementation, there should be massive injection of investment fund from both the international as well as domestic sources, thereby creating new employment opportunities over the next two to three decades.
“It promises to be an exciting as well as disruptive period, Hii said.
SCCCI would bring in experts to give talks on e-commerce, especially for the digital immigrants.
“The older generation are not familiar with e-commerce. This is your chance to familiarise yourselves with this new trend,” he said.
Digital practices
IBM Malaysia managing director Chong Chye Neo said the state must collaborate with the private sector to promote a digital mindset among Sarawakians.
Through these efforts, the state can leverage expertise to build digital skills, capability and capacity, she told StarMetro.
“Given Sarawak’s vastness, digital is key to connectivity.
“Sarawak can become a centre of excellence for pepper production and indigenous culture such as fabric weaving, eco-tourism and many more,” she said.
She said the state could emulate digital economy practices from other organisations.
“NGO’s and companies that have been extremely effective in solving societal problems. The values, culture and principles will provide a more sustainable framework for progress.
Chong believesa that the state and the institutions involved in the digital agenda should be more open in soliciting input and driving participation through its digital society programmes.
“When you drive more awareness and the issues are personal, there is no excuse why one should not participate. It is about the future and our children,” she added.
Training
The International Trade and E-Commerce Ministry’s plan to set up an e-commerce innovation centre in Sibu, Miri and Kuching is a good move to fasttrack prospective companies and entrepreneurs into international trade and e-commerce.
Its minister Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh said the move was aimed at assisting the budding e-commerce enterpreneurs by providing them with the necessary support.
Based on Wong’s study, about 80% of entrepreneurs on e-commerce will either give up or fail because of their inability to do transaction in the limited market.
“Thus the setting up of such centre is timely and appropriate as it will provide solutions and support for e-commerce entrepreneurs.
There will also be the provision of IT infrastructure with concentration on promotion, training, education and development of entrepreneurs who are venturing into e-commerce.
A group of budding entrepreneurs has set up the Sarawak E-Commerce Association in response to the state’s ambitious plan.
Its chairman Chew Hea Lee said: “The association is here to help entrepreneurs with limited knowledge and skill in e-commerce to grow.”
The association will engage professionals to conduct seminars and workshop covering all aspects of e-commerce.
“Most of the millennias are full of enthusiasm to go for e-commerce but could not take the first step due to limited knowledge. This is where our association comes in to assist them,” he said.
The people have responded. The government has provided the push. With such enthusiasm, the state is certainly on the right track, rain or shine.
Suffice to say that Sarawak government has made the right decision in jumping in the digital economy bandwagon as the benefits are enormous.
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