KUALA LUMPUR: The government has been commended for "biting the bullet" and "being realistic with hard facts" when re-tabling Budget 2023.
IBM Malaysia Sdn Bhd managing director Catherine Lian said that Budget 2023 has set the path for Malaysia's further economic recovery and sustainability while addressing leakages to spur greater productivity for the country.
"With 12 main efforts based on three determinations – inclusive and sustainable economic drive; institutional and governance reforms to restore confidence; and social justice to moderate disparities, Budget 2023 reflects economic and political realities post-pandemic," she said in a statement today.
She said Budget 2023 was also described as expansionary in nature with an allocation of RM388.1 billion, comprising RM289.1 billion operating expenditure and RM99 billion development expenditure.
"Fundamentally, it is based on the basic rule that the taxpayers' ringgit has to be spent to address a wide range of policy areas, ranging from social support systems, infrastructure initiatives, public sector modernisation and more importantly, revenue management," she said.
Lian said Budget 2023 or the 'Madani Budget' also brought forth policy priorities of the Unity Government that moved with the times while being forward-looking for the public sector, businesses and the rakyat.
She said for example, the RM50 million in matching grants to promote automation in the plantation sector through the use of robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) demonstrated Malaysia's 'digital first' stance for the sector to move up the value chain while also creating employment for skilled workers.
Lian said the use of AI and robotics should see the plantation sector transforming itself to realise higher yield and productivity while overcoming increasing demand and disruptive forces.
"Innovation in this field does attempt to 'grab the bull by the horns' as the industry had previously faced challenges such as rising costs of supplies, shortage of labour, and changes in consumer preferences for transparency and sustainability," she said.
At its end, IBM Malaysia said it is committed to driving collaboration across industries to help Malaysia realise the value of a digital economy underpinned by hybrid cloud and AI as two dominant forces driving digital transformation.
IBM is also encouraged by the SME Digitalisation Grant with Lian saying that it was imperative that the government continued to promote digital adoption.
"With SMEs being the cornerstone of the Malaysian economy, it is more imperative than ever that businesses view technology as an investment and not a cost.
"Technology enables businesses to 'do more with less', optimise appropriately while also opening up new markets and revenue streams in today's progressively 'borderless' world," Lian said.
In this regard, she said SMEs needed to engage with technology partners who can give them access to the relevant technologies and also help them address all these requirements through robust processes and management tools and practices.
Lian said the RM1 billion for training under Human Resources Development Corporation (HRD Corp) could also prove instrumental in ensuring that Malaysians continue to upskill and reskill themselves with appropriate knowledge and expertise, more so within today's Digital Economy, which currently contributes 22.6 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and is expected to rise to 25.5 per cent of GDP by 2025.
She said the structural and policy reform surrounding investment promotion and facilitation was vital for mature multinational companies such as IBM, who have been in the country for more than 60 years.
She added that in order for higher-value activities to land in Malaysia, the government's support would have to go beyond the traditional fiscal/tax-based incentives. -- Bernama