PUTRAJAYA: Incentives and talent support to empower small businesses are among matters highlighted during the Digital Ministry's Budget 2025 engagement session with stakeholders, says Gobind Singh Deo.
The Digital Minister said the stakeholders raised the possibility of government incentives to encourage the use of technology by micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“I will (raise) the matter (for discussion) with the Prime Minister and Finance Ministry so that a decision can be made on the kind of incentives and taxation involved.
“We need to ensure that the current infrastructure is comprehensive and can be utilised by all Malaysians.
“But there is a need to grant incentives for businesses to use the infrastructure, and that is how we see the country’s digital economy moving forward,” he told a press conference at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre here on Tuesday (Aug 13).
Among those who attended the engagement session were the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM), the National Tech Association of Malaysia (Pikom) and higher education institutions.
Gobind said findings from the session will be discussed at the ministry level and presented to the Finance Ministry on Aug 23.
He said there was also a need to empower talents to ensure optimal digital infrastructure utilisation and development over the next five years.
Incentives are also important to encourage industries to hire and train skilled workers, he added.
“From the digital angle, we want to see what type of jobs will have an increase in demand and ensure that we have enough talent,” he added.
