7 areas about Twelfth Malaysia Plan the marketing and biz sectors should take note of

Malaysia has recently rolled out its Twelfth Malaysia Plan for the period of 2021 to 2025, setting the direction to achieve a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable Malaysia. Among the efforts to rejuvenate economic growth and ensure the nation’s prosperity is the goal to become a carbon-neutral country at the earliest in 2050. In supporting this effort, economic instruments such as carbon pricing and carbon tax will be introduced.

Additionally, private sector companies, in particular, would be encouraged to declare its aspiration to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Among the institutions and companies that have done so include the Employees’ Provident Fund, PETRONAS, Osel Group, Sunway Group, Tai Wah Garments Industries and Sarawak Energy. The Kuala Lumpur City Hall has also announced its aspiration to become a net zero carbon city by 2050.

Another main focus under the Twelfth Malaysia Plan is digitalisation. According to the Malaysian government, the digital economy played a vital role in lessening the impact of the pandemic and sustaining the economy. Hence, the country will focus on providing an enabling environment for the growth of the digital economy, strengthening the provision of digital infrastructure and services, developing future-ready digital talent. All of which, would eventually position Malaysia as the ASEAN digital centre.

Here are seven areas the marketing industry in Malaysia has to take note of:

1. Developing future-ready digital talent

The government will adopt measures to develop digital talent in promoting the digital economy and nurturing future-ready digital talent. A digital talent development strategy framework will be formulated to address related issues as well as guide and align all digital talent development initiatives. Sustainable and inclusive funding facilities will also be provided for this purpose.

At the same time, digital social responsibility will be promoted to encourage organisations and individuals to contribute towards digital reskilling and upskilling programmes. Incentives such as tax exemptions and matching grants will also be introduced to industry players that provide digital education and training programmes. In addition, companies will be encouraged to hire latent talent.

Expertise in cyber security will be strengthened to ensure a trusted, secure and reliable digital ecosystem. The government will also develop more local talent to reduce dependency on foreign cyber security experts. Collaborative efforts between the public and private sectors will be intensified to develop knowledge and skills in cyber security.

There will also be enhancements in industrial training to develop more digital content talent.

Upskilling and reskilling programmes will be undertaken, particularly in the areas of animation, games and films that are globally marketable.

Talent exchange programmes with established digital content-producing countries will be promoted to strengthen domestic capacity and capability. Furthermore, emerging digital technology will be incorporated into the school curriculum to mould digital talent from an early age. In this regard, digital facilities in schools will be upgraded to ensure quality digital education and learning.

2. Positioning Malaysia as the ASEAN digital centre

Malaysia aims to be the ASEAN digital centre given the nation’s strong capability in cyber security solutions and digital content production. These, coupled with its rich and diverse cultural backgrounds and multi lingual society as well as highly adaptable workforce will enable the nation to be the regional digital centre.

Efforts to position Malaysia as the ASEAN digital centre will focus on facilitating strategic and quality investment as well as digitalising MSMEs to broaden market access.

3. Providing an enabling environment for the growth of the digital economy

A trusted platform for data sharing between the government, private sectors and government agencies will be developed to enable data-driven decision making. With this, data sharing between the public and private sectors are expected to improve accountability, impartiality, transparency and openness, the government said. It will also facilitate in designing programmes and delivering targeted services.

Local MSMEs are encouraged to increase eCommerce trading through the integration of existing one-stop centres to enable better access to funding, facilities and stewardship. The centre will also coordinate intervention related to digital businesses and cross border trading to encourage local businesses in penetrating the global market. 

The sharing economy model enables assets and skills to be better utilised by two or more parties, creating economic benefits to society by improving the distribution of wealth. The growth of the sharing economy would be further expedited by fostering interregional collaboration and cooperation through cross border partnerships. Partnerships with international agencies are essential for the exchange of knowledge and best practices, especially on regulations and standards. Local sharing platforms are encouraged to go global and attract foreign investment.

In the Twelfth Plan, the government said efforts to increase awareness and participation of the locals in the sharing economy will be intensified. Industries including tourism, transportation and manufacturing will also be encouraged to adopt and leverage sharing economy models to improve productivity and competitiveness. Additionally, initiatives will also be implemented to promote sharing economy activities, including the gig economy among local communities to supplement the locals' incomes.

The development of smart cities will also be taken into consideration in order to address issues pertaining to energy consumption, public transport as well as waste and disaster management. In line with the National 4IR Policy, the government will offer incentives for industries to share best practices, conduct trials and adopt the sandbox approach in encouraging the adoption of emerging and alternative technologies.

4. Mainstreaming digitalisation for inclusive development

In this area, the government will ensure that every local has equal opportunities to participate and benefit from the digital economy. According to the plan, the importance of digitalisation is even more pronounced since the COVID-19 pandemic as digital platforms allow for socioeconomic activities to continue despite the movement control order.

ECommerce activities will be expanded to scale up digital opportunities for vulnerable groups to exploit digital platforms. 

5. Capitalising on advanced technology potential 

According to the plan, strengthening technological capabilities will be critical to ensure sustained economic growth. A key component of this is to empower more local talent from merely being technology adopters to becoming technology developers and creators. Under the Twelfth Plan, efforts will be intensified to gear up for the 4IR, including adopting emerging technologies in new product development. 

Shifting the way value is created, the 4IR is increasingly converging the digital, physical and biological realms and affecting not only the manufacturing sector but almost every industry in every country and various aspects of the government and society. To seize growth opportunities from 4IR, it is critical to provide a secure environment to encourage innovation. By capitalising on the strength of the ASEAN, Malaysia aims to attract more investments in 4IR technologies, particularly from global unicorn companies. 

6. Improving digital governance for inclusive digitalisation

The ability to share and use available data is crucial in ensuring the success of the digitalisation agenda. A national digital identification policy will be developed to provide a comprehensive framework for building trust and security for digital transactions and the movement of data. The application of digital identity will facilitate the usage of new technologies, eCommerce and other administrative processes. It will also curb fraud and enhance the protection of individual rights. 

7. Strengthening capacity and capability in R&D and innovation

In this aspect, greater emphasis will be placed on scaling up capacity and capability in R&D and commercial and industrial to create greater wealth. This means that efforts will be undertaken to streamline national STI priority areas, strengthen funding for R&D and commercialisation and innovation. This in turn translates R&D as well as intellectual property into high value-added products. With these implementations, these initiatives would be key contributions towards innovation-led growth. 

By streamlining national science, technology and innovation priority areas, the government aims to drive the transformation of the industry from technology users to technology developers and creators. The implementation of technology sandboxes also aim to accelerate innovation and local technology development.

Photo courtesy: 123RF

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