By highlighting Malaysia’s tech advancements, the aim of MDX 2023 is to attract digital investments, says MDEC CEO Mahadhir Aziz.
THE Malaysia Digital Expo 2023 (MDX 2023) is a nationwide event dedicated to celebrating Malaysia’s digital economy.
Organised by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), MDX 2023 – a platform to showcase the latest in innovation and technology from both local and international digital sectors – was hosted across a range of venues within Malaysia.
Spanning six weeks, MDX 2023 commenced on Sept 25, followed by 18 auxiliary events that range from conferences and workshops to exhibitions and networking sessions.
The Grand Finale culminates in the MDX 2023 Finale (Nov 6-8), featuring a panel of local and international experts across different industries, including marquee speaker Zack Kass, former head of Go-to-Market at OpenAI.
MDEC chief executive officer Mahadhir Aziz shares insights on the significance of the event and the future of Malaysia’s digital economy.
What does MDEC aim to achieve throughout MDX 2023?
We want to position Malaysia as a leading digital nation in Asean by showcasing its digital capabilities and encouraging collaborations.
By highlighting Malaysia’s tech advancements, the aim is to attract digital investments – aligning with Malaysia Madani’s vision of creating tech jobs and promoting socioeconomic development.
The 18 auxiliary events also serve as a platform for local and international companies to collaborate and explore opportunities in the digital economy.
Moreover, MDX 2023 is aligned with the Ekonomi MADANI concept of “Raising the Ceiling,” which involves restructuring the economy to enhance the nation’s wealth, and “Raising the Floor,” where social justice is championed to ensure equitable distribution of the increased wealth among the Rakyat.
Ultimately, MDX 2023, as part of the enabling initiative under the new national strategic initiative, Malaysia Digital (MD), aims to establish Malaysia as the Asian Digital Tiger, ushering in a Golden Digital Era for the nation.
The official theme for MDX 2023 is Let’s Do Business. Get Invested in Malaysia. What makes Malaysia attractive to tech organisations?
One of Malaysia’s biggest assets is its strategic location at the crossroads of Asia, next to Singapore – Asia’s business hub.
This makes Malaysia an ideal gateway for trade and investment and allows foreign nations to tap into the vast markets of China, India and South-East Asia.
The Malaysian government’s commitment to innovation is also quite evident through policies that support the growth of the startup ecosystem, as well as initiatives like the National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Council.
In addition to that, our strong physical and digital infrastructure, including reliable transportation and high-speed internet, supports startup operations.
Plus, Malaysia has lower operational costs compared to neighbouring Singapore.
What kind of transformative impact does MDX 2023 aspire to have on the talent pool within Malaysia?
One of the primary auxiliary events at MDX 2023 was the #mydigitalmaker Fair 2023, aimed at promoting digital skills, creativity, and innovation among the youth and educators in Malaysia.
This fair, which was part of the #mydigitalmaker movement, has several objectives, including celebrating digital creativity and innovation, raise awareness about future career pathways, and enhance educators’ capacity through reskilling in teaching and learning.
Furthermore, #mydigitalmaker Fair 2023 played a vital role in Malaysia’s digital economy growth within the MD framework. It acted as a significant initiative to nurture young talents and accelerate their interest in this field, eventually catalysing digital economic development in the long run.
Driven by the trifecta framework that fuelled the growth of the digital economy – supply, demand and enabler, #mydigitalmaker initiative ensures a steady creation of talents and workforce (supply) to act as enablers to meet the demands of the ecosystem and industry.
MDX 2023 also highlights gaming and e-sports – two industries that are seeing phenomenal growth in Malaysia. What does this burgeoning scene say about Malaysian talent?
The Malaysian online gaming market has surged to a value of US$786mil, becoming the third-largest in South-East Asia.
Over the last decade, Malaysian studios have also grown in depth and complexity.
MDEC started the first major intervention beyond grants in the development of community and industry support in 2014, and we are now seeing a healthy number of studios fill out our industry supply ecosystem.
The larger studios were animation and art, primarily engaged in outsourcing for the video game industry or AAA games.
Today, however, the field is more diversified with sustainable indie developers and major global studios like Bandai Namco, PlayStation, Larian, and Double 11, among many others.
This growth has also expanded the local talent pool, encompassing various game development aspects such as concept work and engineering.
Malaysia has also seen many local animations go international recently, such as BoBoiBoy and Monsta’s Mechamato.
At the award circuit, Grim Film recently also won Best Animation at the Comic Con San Diego while Animasia won Best Super Short Film at the Cannes World Film Festival.
What do you think are some misconceptions surrounding digital transformation in Malaysia?
One of the biggest misconceptions is that digital transformation is relevant only for technology-focused companies.
In fact, businesses of all sizes including small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and traditional sectors across all industries can benefit from adopting digital technologies for long-term competitiveness and sustainability.
Apart from that, many think that digital transformation focuses solely on implementing new technologies, setting up online stores or ecommerce platforms.
This couldn’t be further from the truth, as digital transformation involves rethinking business processes, improving internal operations, organisational culture, and customer experiences.
Some believe digital transformation demands a massive budget and prolonged implementation. In reality, it’s a continuous process that necessitates adaptation to new technologies, market trends, and customer preferences.
While there might be significant costs involved, there are also affordable solutions and incremental approaches that exist.
For more information on MDX 2023, go to mdec.my/mdx
