SOON after taking office as Chief Minister in 2017, Tan Sri Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg launched Sarawak's digital economy plan.
He aims to reform the state economy in order to attain high-income status and become a developed state by 2030 through digital transformation.
Abang Johari unveiled the Sarawak Digital Economy Strategy 2018 - 2022 four years ago, laying out 47 strategic plans in eight economic sectors:
- Agriculture
- Manufacturing
- Tourism
- Smart city
- Digital health
- E-commerce
- Digital government
- Sports, social, arts and culture
The Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) was also established to oversee the formulation and implementation of communication and multimedia policies to advance the state's digital economy goal.
In the meantime, other institutions such as the Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC) have been tasked with executing digital initiatives aimed at the private sector.
The Sarawak Information Systems (SAINS) is in charge of government-related digital initiatives.
The CENTEXS Digital Academy is a part of the Centre of Technical Excellence Sarawak (CENTEXS), providing industry-relevant training and skills development in digital and data science to school leavers, graduates and industry employees to satisfy the digital economy's workforce needs.
The Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) won the Malaysian Technology Excellence Award from the Singapore Business Review last year for efficiently controlling and managing the disastrous impact of the Covid-19 pandemic by utilising digital technology, highlighting the state's digital readiness.
To foster digital innovation and entrepreneurship in Sarawak, the state government built the Tabung Ekonomi Gagasan Anak Bumiputera Sarawak (Tegas) Digital Village (TDV).
The village, located in Kuching's Sama Jaya High Tech Park, is equipped with cutting-edge technology to assist aspiring local start-ups and entrepreneurs in establishing their businesses.
In addition, 42 Digital Community Centres (DCC) have been opened across the state to empower various groups' skills so that they do not get left behind in the digital economic transition.
Broadband Internet, laptops and tablets, video conferencing, maker space equipment such as 3D printers, 3D pens, computers, micro and online book libraries as well as digital information are all available at these locations.
After partnering with UnionPay, the state's mobile app for cashless payments, Sarawak Pay, went global as "S-Pay" earlier this year.
It has expanded from 50,000 to more than half a million users, with more than 70,000 companies in the state signing up for the app to allow their consumers to make cashless payments.
Sarawak's government also introduced the Sarawak ID in 2018. It has been integrated into 50 government applications in the state, with over 600,000 registered users.
The Sarawak ID is linked to MyKad and serves as a single point of identification for users across platforms, eliminating the need to register multiple accounts to access different services.
In Malaysia, the first state-owned television station, TV Sarawak (TVS), was launched as an avenue for Sarawakian content creators, producers and performers to display their work.
Thanks to TVS, Sarawakians will have greater opportunities to thrive in the field of digital content, as well as job opportunities to provide more revenue to the digital economy ecosystem.
Apart from news, TVS promotes the integration of the state's diverse races and cultures.