Page 394 - Westport Guide To Malaysia

386 USEFUL INFORMATION
ICT to Digital: Mainstreaming Digital into Malaysia’s Economy
Background
The history of Malaysia’s ICT sector began in 1961 when IBM opened
a Kuala Lumpur office to service government clients. A semiconductor manufacturing hub in Penang followed in the early 1970’s with the arrival of Intel, HP, OSRAM, Hitachi and others. By 1980, semiconductors contributed over
a third of all manufactured exports.
The Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) was launched in
1996. A government- designated zone in southern Selangor, including the towns of Putrajaya and Cyberjaya, it was designed to leapfrog Malaysia into the information age by attracting investors with tax incentives and facilities such
as high-speed Internet access and proximity to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The MSC successfully provided
The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) HQ in Cyberjaya, nerve centre for attracting investments, building local tech champions, catalysing digital innovation ecosystems and propagating diversity and inclusivity.
an accelerated path for foreign and domestic investments that sought to leverage Malaysia not only as a market, but also as a hub for the provision of services to regional and global clients. This early success story helped to create an ICT talent and business ecosystem that has grown to be one of the largest contributors to the economy.
In 2020, the ICT sector
posted a GDP contribution
of 22.6%, of which the e-commerce sub-sector contributed 11.5 %, together roughly RM 320 billion with 10.4% year-on-year growth. The industry employs approximately 1.2 million people with exports valued at RM 98.7 billion.
Mobile broadband penetration is 127.4% (as of 3Q 2021); fixed broadband is
MDEC’s #MyDigitalMaker Fair empowers young Malaysians to be digital users and ultimately digital innovators. Public-private-academia collaboration helps ensure every child is digitally future-proof.