Comms Ministry focusing on three aspects in making M'sia an ICT hub, says Annuar

KUALA LUMPUR: The Communications and Multimedia Ministry is focusing on three main aspects in its efforts to make Malaysia an information and communications technology (ICT) hub, in line with the Malaysian Digital Economy (MyDigital) initiative.

Its minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa (pic) said the three main aspects are communication infrastructure improvement, attracting digital investment and building manpower and human capital in the digital technology sector.

"To strengthen the connectivity ecosystem, the ministry has implemented the National Digital Infrastructure Plan or Jendela as an effort to expand coverage and improve the quality of broadband services as a whole, through various initiatives and prepare the country for the transition to 5G technology.

"The ministry is also improving the connectivity ecosystem infrastructure under the Jendela+ plan to support the implementation of MyDigital.

"Jendela+ is focused on three elements, namely, international connectivity (IC), internet exchange point (IXP) and data centre (DC),” he said during the question-and-answer session at the Dewan Negara on Monday (Aug 15).

He said this in response to a question from Senator Mohd Apandi Mohamad who wanted to know the steps taken by the ministry in making Malaysia an ICT hub in South-East Asia. - Bernama

As for digital investment, Annuar said through the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), the Ministry has drawn up a five-year (2021-2025) strategic plan which is focused on five main thrusts to attract investments and drive the country's digital economy.

The five main thrusts include targeting an investment of RM50bil in the digital economy, creating 50,000 job opportunities in the digital industry, attracting 50 Fortune 500 technology companies to do business in Malaysia and enabling five global unicorn companies to operate in the country.

"The strategic action plans taken by MDEC to attract foreign direct investments (FDI) and domestic direct investment (DDI) and position Malaysia as an Asean digital hub include empowering the digital investment office (DIO), a collaborative platform with the Malaysian Investment Development Board (MIDA), as a single window for digital investment facilitation.

"Besides that, establishing collaboration at international and state levels to accelerate digital investment; accelerate the generation of domestic demand to drive strategic investment; ensure the availability of investment locations to support Digital Malaysia initiatives; drive reinvestment of digital companies in Malaysia by promoting market opportunities in the Digital Malaysia initiative,” he said. - Bernama