KUALA LUMPUR: More women should be supported to become creators, entrepreneurs and owners in the digital economy, and not just be mere users of technology, says Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani.
The Investment, Trade and Industry Minister said participation in the digital economy was no longer enough, as women needed to use technology to build businesses, enter supply chains and eventually become industry leaders.
“We do not want to just measure how many women participate in the digital economy. We want to see how many succeed in creating businesses.
“Participation alone is not enough.
“We want value creation; we want ownership of the value created,” he said when officiating the Voices of HER Forum 2026 here yesterday.
Johari said a woman selling products online could progress further by becoming a supplier, vendor, manufacturer, exporter or business partner.
He said this would allow women to become part of the economic value chain and create greater value through their businesses.
Johari said artificial intelligence (AI) would also transform jobs, with machines increasingly handling routine tasks while workers take on roles requiring human judgement, creativity and decision-making.
Citing International Labour Organization findings, he said one in four jobs globally had some level of exposure to AI in 2025, while 29% of jobs dominated by women were exposed to generative AI in 2026.
“The future is not humans versus AI, but humans together with AI,” he said.
He said Malaysia must also ensure local jobs offer enough economic value to encourage Malaysians to take them up, instead of simply blaming workers for being unwilling to work.
“When people ask me, ‘Datuk, we have offered the job, but workers do not want to take it’, I ask them, ‘What are you offering? What salary?”
“If you offer RM1,700, does that job have enough economic value for a Malaysian?” he told reporters after the event.
Johari said Malaysians were willing to travel long distances for better-paying jobs, citing those who commuted to Singapore despite spending more than an hour each way.
Some might instead choose gig work such as e-hailing because it offered immediate income and greater flexibility, he said.
He said Malaysia must gradually reduce its reliance on foreign workers, with foreign labour mainly used for 3D jobs, namely dirty, dangerous and difficult work.
Industries applying for foreign workers should explain why such workers were needed, while applications for other positions should state the salary, entry-level requirements and qualifications.
Johari said greater automation and digitalisation were needed across industries, including micro, small and medium enterprises, to reduce dependence on foreign labour and improve productivity.
