Malaysia aims to bridge the digital divide among workers

Malaysia aims to close the digital divide among its citizens, including workers in the urban and rural areas and older and younger employees as part of the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint’s major objectives, said Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy).

“We expect to see a change in the digital economic landscape towards improved digital literacy, high-income job creation, easier and more well-organised banking and financial business, better virtual educational access for our children, and mobilisation of medical facilities to remote towns,” he said in a statement.

The minister urged all Malaysians to seize the opportunities made available under the Blueprint, and cautioned that the failure to use digital technology would cause some to be left behind, therefore preventing the country from being a leader in the digital economy space.  

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He also added that the pandemic has increased awareness of the need to expedite the adoption of digital technology.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin earlier pledged to create 500,000 jobs in the digital economy, and have it contribute 22.6% to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025, he said at the launch of the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint.