KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 10): Malaysia Digital Economy Corp (MDEC) CEO Surina Shukri said today its Malaysia Tech Month 2020 (MTM 2020), which serves as a strategic extension of the government’s continued push to develop and sustain a vibrant digital economy, will help to set the stage for digital-led economic growth, including attracting critical investments for the digital and technology sectors.

In a statement issued today in conjunction with the launch of MTM 2020 today, Surina said MDEC, a government agency under the purview of the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia, is sparing no effort to ensure digital technologies remain central to Malaysia’s socio-economic growth in this new norm.

"To achieve this, we must also ensure that the initiatives — both current and upcoming — are relevant to the unique needs [of] start-ups and SMEs. They must start to think regional and then go global,” Surina said.

According to MDEC's statement, MTM 2020, which will be held throughout November 2020, will provide a platform for a wide range of events and highlight multiple collaborations with industry partners.

MTM 2020 aims to emphasise and fortify Malaysia's role in expanding the digital economy and the nation's first-mover position in ASEAN, while drawing attention to the country's readiness in leveraging opportunities that the Fourth Industrial Revolution will spur and inspire, according to MDEC, which also organised a virtual press conference today to announce the launch of MTM 2020.

MDEC chief marketing officer Raymond Siva said during the press conference that MDEC, through MTM 2020, wants to allow people to fully focus on what the digital technology ecosystem has to offer.

"Digital economy is going to be the key driver [of the Malaysian economy] and a subset of the digital economy is e-commerce. We have seen the numbers of e-commerce grow exponentially especially during the Covid-19 period," said Raymond.

MDEC's statement, citing data from the Department of Statistics, said Malaysia's digital economy is expected to contribute to 20% of the country's economy by 2020. 

According to MDEC, Malaysia's digital economy, based on the Department of Statistics' latest data, has contributed to 19.1% of the national economy, up from 18.7% in 2018.