KUALA LUMPUR (March 4): The Pakatan Harapan (PH) Government is willing to listen to any quarters, including the B40 and M40 groups, and help them with startup ideas and proposals in order to increase their income, said Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo.
He said the Ministry and its agencies, such as Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation Sdn Bhd (MDEC) and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), would look into the proposals and then decide on how to help these groups — from taxi drivers to FELDA settlers and farmers — to realise their ideas of introducing any application or upgrading their current business models.
“Many companies have approached the Ministry, MDEC or MCMC with their ideas. They also have applications and solutions for different sectors. That’s why I said, we must look at different verticals. You have people coming in (saying) how they can help with drone technology to improve yields in plantations,” Gobind said.
“When they come to us, they have problems in the sense that they need to know if we got connectivity to allow them to do what they want to do in the plantations. This is where my Ministry looks at it and send them to MDEC or MCMC to look at the specs.
“Sometimes they also come in with proposals to assist Ministries. We have seen so many solutions to improve productivity and yield. That is why my Ministry will help advance the proposals to the other Ministries concerned and see how we can play the role to facilitate (the process). That’s the approach I take. I am open; if there’s any proposal, get in touch with me or MDEC,” he told the press after attending the launch of the Digital Native Agenda (DNA23) initiated by PKR President Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, here today.
He pointed out that the Government needed every quarter to empower the national digital agenda in order to prepare for any future challenges and problems.
“If we wait and use another approach, or process, things will be overtaken by events. In order to hasten the process, we adopt an open approach where ministries can approach MDEC if they want,” he said.
Earlier during the townhall session, Anwar said the DNA23 was a platform to gather ideas and views on how to transform the national digital industry in the next decade.
According to him, the implementation of DNA23 is driven by three main thrusts: the people’s prosperity and happiness; future-proofing, and ethics and culture.
“The digital world is constantly evolving. It can be challenging to keep up, but it is also essential that we recognise and seize the opportunities. This DNA23 is aimed at highlighting the issues that have been identified by and brought to my attention.
“It is also aimed to empower stakeholders of the digital landscape and help to set priorities in steering the nation towards the digital age,” he said, adding that this platform would continue the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) which was inspired by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Meanwhile, during the press conference, Anwar explained that a similar initiative had been introduced in countries such China and India, where it helped the farmers get more income by providing them apps to popularise their products and to implement a price mechanism strategy.
“There is a need to give the B40 group among the farmers an opportunity to harness DNA23 to increase their income,” he added.
[Source: “Come forward if you have any startup ideas — Gobind” published by The Edge Markets]Photo Credits: The Edge Markets
