Digital Ministry needed for challenges of the modern era, says Gobind

PETALING JAYA: There is a need for a Digital Ministry as the rampant digitalisation that is taking place in Malaysia does not come without challenges, says Gobind Singh Deo.

The newly minted Digital Minister said the current era has changed the way society, including businesses, works.

“I’ve served as the Communications and Multimedia Minister before this and during that time the scope of the ministry is already very wide, involving aspects of information, media and digital matters.

“We are all aware that the current challenges amid the digital era have affected every layer of the society, from the way we move around to the way we do business and how we can overcome the digital threats.

“Due to these challenges, there is a need to have a separate ministry,” he told reporters at a press conference on Thursday (Dec 12).

He also said that Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil would continue to oversee the information and media aspect.

Gobind said the scope of the Digital Ministry will be studied as soon as possible and a framework will be produced to further define the roles of the ministry.

“Moving forward, there is a lot of work to do. And we need to start working now so that we can begin our short, medium and long term plans for the ministry,” he added.

Gobind also said that he has yet to be informed about the specific agencies that would be parked under his ministry.

“At the moment, I’m not informed specifically on the agencies that will be under my purview. I will talk with Fahmi about this tomorrow (Dec 13),” he said.

During the Cabinet reshuffle announcement, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that the decision to separate the Communications and Digital Ministry was to meet the growing demands of digital transformation.

He said there is a need to boost communications so that information on the government’s plans and programmes for the people can be explained effectively.