IPOH: The Digital Ministry acknowledged many micro, small and medium enterprises (PMKS), comprising 97 per cent of businesses nationwide, are still unprepared to embrace digital technologies that are crucial for growth.
Minister Gobind Singh Deo said the ministry must ramp up transformation efforts to encourage such entrepreneurs to participate in the digital economy.
He said this push was essential to achieving the target of a 25.5 per cent contribution from the digital economy to Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP) from PMKS this year, as outlined in the 12th Malaysia Plan.
"Technology is evolving rapidly, and we need to ensure that PMKS industries can swiftly adapt to these advancements, given that they account for the majority of businesses in Malaysia.
"We all recognise that leveraging existing platforms can empower businesses. However, it raises the question of why are so many still reluctant to adopt these new technologies? This is an issue we must address," he said after attending the Jelajah Malaysia Digital @ Perak: SME Digitalisation programme yesterday.
Present was Perak Tourism, Industry, Investment and Corridor Development Committee chairman Loh Sze Yee.
To address these concerns, Gobind said the ministry had launched the Jelajah Malaysia Digital series, with Perak chosen to host the inaugural event.
The programme aimed to gather feedback from PMKS entrepreneurs to identify and propose solutions for digitalisation challenges.
"Many questions were raised about the technologies available to empower businesses. We found that the challenges vary across different sectors.
"As we move forward, we intend to continue engagement sessions to better understand the issues and propose effective solutions," he said.
On concerns about cybersecurity, including incidents where e-commerce merchants reported missing funds from their accounts, Gobind assured that security measures would be a priority.
"Although issues such as scams do exist, the government is working on establishing an ecosystem to address these problems and build confidence in digital platforms.
"Despite these challenges, many PMKS have found success through digital business operations, with several reporting significant growth after adopting new technologies," he said.
Source: https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2025/01/1159893/ministry-trying-get-more-entrepreneurs-embrace-digital-tech-says-gobind