Sabah to close tech gap to solve its problems, says state Science Ministry secretary

State Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry permanent secretary Datuk Zainudin Aman

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah needs to close the technology gap for it to adopt technological innovations to solve unique problems facing the state.

State Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry permanent secretary Datuk Zainudin Aman said that there was a need for the state to rapidly close the gaps to use technology through innovative means to help the state.

He said it could help overcome a variety of challenges faced in the state compared to other states in the country.

“It is for this reason that we would like to see how the usage of technology and innovation could solve our problems in Sabah," he said at the three-Borneo Tech Summit here Wednesday (Nov 23).

“It is not impossible but it can only be done with the cooperation of everyone,” he said.

Zainudin added that to close the technology gap in Sabah, human capital capacity development programs need to be done from time to time more organically and not on a "one-time off" basis.

Borneo Tech Summit is an additional program to previous programs that have been created for example Sandbox, Toon Boom Animation, STEM, Makerspace Day, among others.

"We have also invited industry experts from Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and the neighbouring Philippines to share the latest on technology developments and how Sabah can best use the benefits of this partnership.

"Our ministry hopes that our start-ups take the opportunity from the Borneo Tech Summit as much as possible to not only learn and gain new knowledge but to build collaboration networks with other start-ups.

"We hope that Sabah can produce as many start-ups as possible, and in addition, we will provide a program that can help their start-up journey," he added.

Sabah Creative Economy and Innovation Centre (SCENIC) general manager Viviantie Sarjuni said the pandemic had taught a lesson that there is a need to diversify the economy, especially leveraging on technology to accelerate the economy of Sabah.

“What if using Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality technology to build a tourism-based business model that is proof of a pandemic? Maybe that is too ambitious but we can always start with simple technology that not only accelerates the income of business owners but solves pressing issues in Sabah.

“All of these initiatives will then open job opportunities for the grassroots. I am hopeful for this ecosystem to grow,” she said.