GEORGE TOWN: Malaysia earned the coveted Chairman's Award at the 2020 WITSA Global ICT Excellence Awards last night, when Pemandu Associates Sdn Bhd was recognised for its "Global Covid-19 Index (GCI)".
The highlight at the TECHFEST2020 LIVE was the 2020 WITSA Global ICT Excellence Awards, presented live to the world's winners, all of whom had developed or created applications of Information & Communications Technology (ICT) which have made a difference in their communities, whether to provide public services, boost profits or advance connectivity.
This is the third time that Malaysia has bagged the Chairman's Award in this competition, previously winning it in 2014 and 2016.
Not only was Malaysia well-represented with 18 nominees, but the country also landed five awards.
They include the Global ICT Awards Winner in Sustainable Growth which was bagged by Telekom Research & Development Sdn Bhd for its "Smart Water Integrated Management System (SWIMS)"; and runner-up for the Covid-19 Tech Solutions for Countries & Regions, which was clinched by the Health Ministry for "Malaysia's Pandemic Response Systems".
Malaysia also bagged two Merit Awards for the Covid-19 Tech Solutions for Cities & Localities, which was won by the Chief Minister Incorporated (CMI)'s "PGCare Penang Contact Tracer" and Local Government Division, Penang State Secretary's "Initiative to reduce contact via Cashless Transaction".
Pemandu, a consulting firm focused on socio-economic transformation, business turnaround and digital marketing and design, was also nominated in the Covid-19 Tech Solutions for Countries & Regions category for its dynamic dashboard that consolidates Covid-19 data from 184 countries into a comprehensive Global Covid-19 Index which governments, businesses and communities can reference.
Pemandu joint managing director Woody Ang said they were truly honoured to have been given the accolade by the WITSA Committee.
"Through the years of helping governments and corporations around the world in transformational efforts, we learnt that the key to good decision-making is when data is distilled to simple, easy-to-understand metrics that show results are being achieved. The GCI is an amalgamation of this.
"The GCI is an innovation of our own and it is also Pemandu Associates' contribution towards the spirit of Open Data and Open Science."
Meanwhile, Telekom Research & Development Sdn Bhd (TM R&D) was the Global ICT Awards Winner in the Sustainable Growth category for its Smart Water Integrated Management System (SWIMS).
Commenting on the milestone achievement, TM R&D chief executive officer Dr Sharlene Thiagarajah said this was indeed a proud moment for them.
"TM R&D is optimistic that this effort will improve financial and social well-being without compromising the prosperity of future generations, while simultaneously supporting TM's aspirations and unique role as the enabler of Digital Malaysia," she added.
This was the first Virtual Global ICT Excellence Awards, and it included three new Covid-19 related award categories.
There were nine categories for the competition this year; Covid-19 Tech Solutions for Cities & Localities, Covid-19 Tech Solutions for Countries or Regions, Covid-19 Best Industry Solutions, Public/Private Partnership Award, Digital Opportunity/Inclusion Award, Sustainable Growth Award, Innovative eHealth Solutions Award, Digital Innovation Award and E-Education & Learning Award.
Nominees hailed from Argentina, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Egypt, Greece, Hong Kong, the Republic of North Macedonia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Republic of Korea, Romania, Singapore, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.
Taiwan bagged the most awards ahead of Bangladesh (six) and the UK (five).
To date, WITSA Global ICT Excellence Award winners have positioned themselves as leaders and top innovators by fully realising the potential of ICT to grow the bottom line as well as to provide better services to citizens, improve health care, and provide trust and transparency in government.