KUCHING: The business community in Sarawak, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), must be adventurous in exploiting technology in their business modules.
Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Abang Openg said taking advantage of technological advancements will help SMEs remain relevant and competitive as many nations including Malaysia are gearing towards the digital economy era.
Abang Johari said the state must invest in technology and digitalization to align the its economy with the global digital economy.
“Hence, our focus has to be on strengthening relevant technologies and infrastructure to enhance our e-commerce capabilities as well as transform the state’s human resource and help industry players be digital economy-ready.
“Only by digitalizing the business modules will Sarawak SMEs be able to make their business more competitive and accessible globally,” he said.
Abang Johari was speaking at the launch of the Business Excellence Seminar and Forum 2017 at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here.
The event was organised by the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC) to facilitate dialogue and knowledge-sharing on business excellence to augment productivity growth at both state and national levels.
Sarawak, he said, is on the right path to achieving its goal to become a developed state with the inception of several initiatives to enhance the state's potential in digital economy.
This, said Abang Johari, included the setting-up of the Development Bank of Sarawak (DBOS), Sarawak Petroleum Company (Petros) and the multi-billion acquisition of the Bakun Dam from the Federal government.
“These (initiatives) allow us to manage and develop our economy better as we have our own bank, participation in the oil and gas industry as well as control over our hydropower energy,” he said.
Apart from that, the state government also plans to open up more state land outside the city, particular suburban areas, for housing projects, which will be connected to the Light Rail Transit (LRT) system.
“As such, we can control the house prices and reduce the gap between the urban and sub-urban community,” he said.
“I hope the forum is able to share information on how business entities deal with the challenges of the 21st globalisation effectively and build strong foundation for a sustainable business,” he added.