‘Sarawak’s proactive digitalisation initiatives cushion Covid-19 impact’

Sarawak is fortunate to have embarked on a digital transformation journey three years ago that has enabled it to effectively manage the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, said Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg.

He said this journey, which came in the form of the Sarawak Digital Economy Strategy 2018-2022 launched in December 2017, had seen its progress to digitalise the state’s economy and helped to address most issues during the pandemic.

“As always with any strategy, certain aspects such as digital sovereignty, interoperability, ease of doing business, cybersecurity, digital readiness and supporting the digital transformation of the private sector could be further strengthened to accelerate our post-Covid-19 Economic Agenda,” he said.

Speaking at the opening of the 4th International Digital Economy Conference Sarawak (IDECS) here today, he said the pandemic had caused the severe economic and social impact, but Sarawak had contained it well by implementing its digital economy strategy.

“Our digital readiness was recently highlighted when the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) was awarded the Malaysian Technology Excellence Award by the Singapore Business Review for utilising digital technology to control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in Sarawak,” he said.

Abang Johari said Covid-19 would create permanent long-term effects on how economies and financial systems operate in the future, with all countries no longer able to do “business as usual”.

Being aware of this situation, he said the Sarawak Economic Action Council (SEAC) was established to formulate the state government’s Post-Covid-19 Exit Economic Strategy up to 2030, where the state’s vision is to become developed and economically driven by data and innovation.

“One of the SEAC’s strategies was to identify a number of catalytic initiatives that will propel Sarawak’s economic growth to eight per cent annually, thus achieving Sarawak’s 2030 vision,” he said.

He said these initiatives were anchored on six key principles, namely improved economic structure and environment; ease of doing business; targeted spending; asset optimisation and funding; digital government; and social and economic inclusivity.

“The Sarawak vision is indeed ambitious, but with careful planning, commitment and hard work, I am confident Sarawak will be a thriving society driven by data and innovation where everyone enjoys economic prosperity, social inclusivity and a sustainable environment by 2030,” he added.

- Bernama