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Malaysia Budget 2019 measures lauded

After many long, apprehension-filled months, the Budget 2019 for Malaysia was finally announced, garnering positive reviews from almost everyone who read it.

According to a recent report, several tech specialists reported being generally positive about the Budget.

e-Commerce, tech and logistics players are generally positive on the series of proposed policies and investments for the development of Industry 4.0, as announced during National Budget 2019.

Measures such as the ‘Industry Digitalisation Transformation Fund’, ‘National Fiber Connectivity Plan’ and other policies will not only boost the growth of Malaysia’s digital economy but aid small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well.

The CEO of a major regional integrated telecommunications infrastructure services company stated that the government’s commitment to enabling greater connectivity throughout the nation and efforts to develop the country’s infrastructure for broadband is laudable. He added that as operators continue to connect fibre to homes, there is also a need to extend fibre to other infrastructures in Malaysia, especially if the nations seeks to be 5G-ready. With approximately just 30 to 40 per cent of towers in the country integrated with fibre, it is crucial the nation is equipped with the right telecommunication infrastructure.

The expert note that to meet price and speed aspirations decision-makers need to encourage more infrastructure sharing and adoption of fixed wireless access. The current tower infrastructure is still relatively under fiberised. He note that funds can be used to promote connectivity, which has a more immediate impact on access and speed, especially in rural areas.

Meanwhile, an e-commerce platform welcomed the government’s efforts to further drive the digital economy forward and bring more entrepreneurs nationwide into the digital space. With the company’s CEO stating that the allocation of RM4.5 billion with 60 per cent guarantee of SJPP (Skim Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan) to commercially finance SMEs resonates with the company’s commitment to empowering local sellers in growing their businesses.

The CEO also applauded the government’s decision to reduce fixed line broadband prices by the end of 2018 and allocate RM1 billion for the National Fibre Connectivity Plan to boost internet connectivity in rural areas within five years, pointing out that rural connectivity is essential to grow the next generation of rural entrepreneurs from previously unconnected areas.

It is hope that with this programme, more entrepreneurs can be uplifted and rural buyers’ access to cheaper online products will increase, in turn, improving their welfare.

With regards to the logistics companies that are also involved in the last-mile delivery for the e-Commerce industry, an major logistics company with a branch in Malaysia believed that the policies and investments announced for Budget 2019 could contribute to a positive growth outlook for the nation, especially through the support of local SMEs.

They lauded the focus the government has placed in stimulating growth for SMEs. Initiatives such as the RM 2 billion worth of and takaful facilities by EXIM bank; RM100 million to upgrade the capability of the SMEs in the SME halal export industry; and RM1 billion for the SME Shariah Compliant Financing Scheme; will aid more SMEs to increase competitiveness in an increasingly challenging business environment.

Adding that local SMEs should look at optimising these facilities to broaden their horizons beyond the local market and explore opportunities to export their product to the international market.

Echoing this view, another tech company commended measures such as the Industry Digitalisation Transformation Fund as well as the Business Loan Guarantee Scheme to help SMEs invest in automation and modernisation.

Meanwhile, a cybersecurity solutions company noted that as Malaysia embarks on its journey to develop its digital economy, it urged businesses to be ready in terms of its cybersecurity. The firm’s managing director stated that Malaysia continues to embark on a digital transformation journey, it must remember that cybersecurity makes a crucial component in enabling innovations.

Adding that in the Industry 4.0 era, enterprises not only need to worry about the usual business disrupters such as natural disasters, adverse publicity, and loss of key personnel among others, but also increasingly sophisticated cyberthreats targeting critical infrastructure and the smart devices that we use to virtually control them.

The MD urged businesses to regard cybersecurity as a prerequisite to capture the potential value enabled by digitisation. He recommended that organisations start taking a more integrated approach to security to mitigate future risks while staying abreast of the latest in cybersecurity.

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Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

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CTC Global Singapore, a premier end-to-end IT solutions provider, is a fully owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC) and ITOCHU Corporation.

Since 1972, CTC has established itself as one of the country’s top IT solutions providers. With 50 years of experience, headed by an experienced management team and staffed by over 200 qualified IT professionals, we support organizations with integrated IT solutions expertise in Autonomous IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

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Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

SUPPORTING ORGANISATION

SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

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HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

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IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

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