KUALA LUMPUR: The economy ministry and World Economic Forum (WEF) have collaborated to establish the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Malaysia (C4IR), making it the first of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region and the 19th globally for WEF.
The C4IR Malaysia was launched today by economy minister Rafizi Ramli and WEF president Børge Brende.
The centre, hosted by MyDigital Corporation, is a national initiative aimed at transforming Malaysia into a digitally-driven, high-income nation, and a regional leader in the digital economy.
It aims to benefit businesses and public sector which will be tagged to performance indicators by 2030 such as increasing Malaysia’s Wellbeing Index to 136.5, increasing productivity by 30% across all sectors compared to 2020, and be in the top 50 in the Environmental Performance Index.
In his pre-recorded opening speech, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the centre will accelerate the next phase of growth for Malaysia’s digital transformation agenda and facilitate Asean’s efforts for digital transformation.
Another focus area is energy transition to support Malaysia’s energy policy 2022-2040. It aims to successfully navigate energy transition and develop the green economy while balancing issues such as energy security, affordability and environmental sustainability.
The government has developed the Malaysia digital economy blueprint and national 4IR policy, a roadmap towards becoming a high-income nation and a policy aimed to equip the rakyat with 4IR knowledge.
“This is in line with the 12th Malaysia plan which aims to exploit the potential opportunities presented by 4IR and future-proofing Malaysia’s socio-economic development for long-term sustainability and prosperity.
“The WEF has established the C4IR as a platform to support leaders not only in realising the benefits of the ever-evolving and growing trajectory of technology, it is also to support the government’s efforts for new policy frameworks,” Anwar said.
Rafizi said C4IR will serve as a focal point between the public and private sector to problem solve and pilot projects, besides serving as a knowledge centre where top experts, innovators, and policymakers congregate to share their insights.
“To do this, we need to create as many collaboration channels as possible,” he said, adding that innovation is a “team sport”.
MyDigital CEO Fabian Bigar said the establishment of the WEF-Centre for 4IR is especially exciting as it puts the spotlight on Malaysia’s commitment towards prioritising technology.
MyDigital, an agency under the economy ministry, has been mandated to ensure the initiatives under the Malaysia digital economy blueprint and national 4IR policy are implemented.
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