Malaysia aims to create 500,000 jobs in the digital economy by 2025
- Claire Lee
Malaysia aims 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, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said at the launch of the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint on Friday.
To do this, the government will pump in RM21 billion (US$5.2 billion) to the National Digital Network (JENDELA) over the next five years; RM1.65 billion (US$408.5 million) will be used in telecommunications to strengthen connectivity to the international submarine cable network until 2023; RM15 billion (US$3.71 billion) will be set aside to roll out 5G country-wide over a decade; and between RM12 billion (US$2.97 billion) and RM15 billion to be invested by cloud service provider companies over the next five years.
The investment into rolling out 5G nationwide will create about 105,000 jobs, the prime minister said.
READ: Malaysia’s Yayasan Peneraju has certified over 36,000 bumiputeras
“The role of digital technology is evident, especially since a year ago, following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has led to all countries facing difficult challenges to continue business as usual,” he said.
This is why mastery of digital technology is crucial to elevate Malaysia’s economy, he added.
