Open data is a pillar of digitalisation of society, economy - Rafizi

The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) today launched the open data repository OpenDOSM NextGen which is part of the agency’s efforts to modernise and innovate in order to better disseminate accurate and timely data to the public.

Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli, who attended the launching, said the increased transparency and accessibility of the open data repository would greatly benefit the development of the country’s economy.

“Some might ask what’s the relation between data and my ministry.

“We (the ministry) have three main challenges. First is for us to strengthen our fiscal position… the second is for us to increase revenue and the third is the question of structuring the economy.

“All this depends on how sophisticated and accurate the data we have. Not only at the government level, but also at the agencies level, the private sector all the way to the consumer and rakyat level,” Rafizi said in his speech at the launch held at the DOSM in Putrajaya today.

People’s lives revolve around their screens nowadays and a lot of the products and services they use come from app developers and so on, he said.

These products and services are powered and based on data, he explained.

“So, the basis of the three things we want to achieve just now is the digitalisation of society.

“We need to digitalise our society starting with their dealings with the government all the way to the rakyat’s daily habits.

“That is why one of the main pillars of this digitalisation effort is data,” Rafizi said, adding that he was grateful to be given a portfolio that has the DOSM under its jurisdiction.

OpenDOSM NextGen praised

He praised the new OpenDOSM NextGen, saying there is a major shift in how data is presented with this repository as the department moves away from infographics and images to a more granular format.

The portal fulfils the gold standards for open data platforms, that is they have machine-readable data, easier and faster access to data using a data catalogue as well as a data visualisation in the form of a dashboard that covers both economic and social data of the country.

Aside from statistics from DOSM, the platform also includes information from several other government agencies.

While the current data on the website is perhaps not as granular as some would like, Rafizi said he hopes this is a clear signal that the current government wants to be more transparent.

“We are moving towards an open government, open data, but it doesn’t happen overnight. We have to start building in bits and pieces,” he said.

On a separate matter, Rafizi said he has not been asked to declare his assets to the prime minister when asked whether cabinet ministers have done so.

He pointed out that PKR already had their candidates for GE15 publicly declare their assets before the election in November last year.

However, he added, it should be the “bare minimum” for cabinet ministers to submit their asset declaration to the prime minister. - Mkini