SPEECH BY MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER YAB DATO' SERI ABDULLAH BIN HAJI AHMAD BADAWI AT THE 20TH M.S.C. MALAYSIA IMPLEMENTATION COUNCIL MEETING, PUTRAJAYA ON SEPT 11,2008
BISMILLAHIR RAHMANIR RAHIM
ASSALAMUALAIKUM WARAHMATULLAHI WABARAKATUH AND GOOD MORNING
YAB DATO' SRI MOHD NAJIB TUN ABDUL RAZAK
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
CABINET MINISTERS AND MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
1. FIRSTLY, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL MEMBERS FOR ATTENDING THIS 20TH M.S.C. MALAYSIA IMPLEMENTATION COUNCIL MEETING (M.S.C. MALAYSIA I.C.M.). I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO WELCOME NEW MEMBERS, AND LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR THOUGHTS AND IDEAS, SO THAT WE MAY CONTINUE TO BUILD UPON THE SUCCESS OF M.S.C. MALAYSIA.
2. CERTAINLY, M.S.C. MALAYSIA REMAINS A KEY INITIATIVE AND TODAY'S MEETING REFLECTS THE GOVERNMENT'S COMMITMENT TO DEVELOP IT FURTHER. PRIOR TO THE SETTING UP OF M.S.C. MALAYSIA 12 YEARS AGO, THERE WERE LESS THAN 300 I.C.T. COMPANIES IN MALAYSIA. TODAY, WE CAN BE PROUD OF A THRIVING I.C.T. INDUSTRY, WITH OVER 3,000 COMPANIES IN THE COUNTRY. WE CAN ALSO BE PROUD OF OUR HOMEGROWN COMPANIES THAT TODAY PROVIDE DIGITAL STREET MAPS IN LONDON, AIRPORT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE IN 20 INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS, AND MOBILE SOLUTIONS IN CHINA. INDEED, MANY OF OUR I.C.T. SOLUTIONS AND SERVICES ARE WELL RECEIVED AND OF GLOBAL STANDARD.
3. SINCE WE LAST MET IN DECEMBER 2006, I AM PLEASED TO NOTE THAT M.S.C. MALAYSIA HAS BEEN PROGRESSING WELL. TODAY, M.S.C. MALAYSIA IS HOME TO 2,170 M.S.C. MALAYSIA STATUS COMPANIES, INCREASING BY 19 PERCENT FROM 2006. IN ADDITION, THESE COMPANIES HAVE CREATED APPROXIMATELY 79,000 JOBS.
4. M.S.C. MALAYSIA CONTINUES TO SEE THE INFLOW OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT, WHICH INCREASED BY 20 PER CENT BETWEEN 2006 AND 2007. FURTHERMORE, IN 2007, THE REVENUE OF M.S.C. MALAYSIA STATUS COMPANIES WAS ABOUT 17 BILLION RINGGIT, A MARKED INCREASE OF MORE THAN 30 PERCENT COMPARED TO 2006. EXPORT FIGURES FOR 2007 ARE REPORTED TO EXCEED 5.5 BILLION RINGGIT. I AM PLEASED TO NOTE THAT LOCAL MALAYSIAN COMPANIES CONTRIBUTED 1.4 BILLION RINGGIT TO THESE EXPORTS. THIS SHOWS THAT LOCAL M.S.C. MALAYSIA COMPANIES ARE COMPETING AND WINNING DEALS IN THE GLOBAL MARKET.
5. A CLEAR IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY HAS HELPED MALAYSIA RETAIN ITS SEAT AS THE 3RD MOST ATTRACTIVE LOCATION FOR SHARED SERVICES AND OUTSOURCING, AS BENCHMARKED BY A.T. KEARNEY IN 2007. IN ADDITION, THE GOVERNMENT'S CONCERTED EFFORT TO IMPROVE THE PUBLIC DELIVERY SYSTEM HAS IMPROVED MALAYSIA'S RANKING IN THE WORLD BANK'S LATEST "EASE-OF-DOING-BUSINESS INDEX". MALAYSIA MOVED UP 4 NOTCHES TO NUMBER 20 DUE TO THE GOVERNMENT'S HARD WORK IN INCREASING ITS EFFICIENCY, INCLUDING BY PROVIDING BETTER ONLINE SERVICES. THIS IS A VISIBLE AND DIRECT RESULT OF EXTENDING THE USE OF I.C.T AS AN ENABLER OF THE NATION?S ECONOMY.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
6. WHILE WE SHOULD BE PROUD OF M.S.C. MALAYSIA'S SUCCESS THUS FAR, MORE CAN AND SHOULD BE DONE. THIS INCLUDES ASSISTING OUR HOMEGROWN I.C.T. ENTREPRENEURS TO TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE OF GOING BEYOND OUR SHORES AND COMPETING WITH GLOBAL COMPANIES. INDEED, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE TRULY GLOBAL BRANDS EMERGE FROM M.S.C. MALAYSIA'S HOMEGROWN COMPANIES. WE NEED GLOBAL ICONS THAT STUDENTS AND BUDDING ENTREPRENEURS CAN LOOK UP TO AND EMULATE. I LOOK FORWARD TO DISCUSSING THE PROPOSALS ON NURTURING LOCAL I.C.T. COMPANIES THAT M-DEC WILL BE TABLING TODAY.
7. WHILE M.S.C. MALAYSIA HAS SUCCESSFULLY BUILT A VIBRANT I.C.T. INDUSTRY, THE SCOPE OF I.C.T. DEVELOPMENT HAS TO BE EXPANDED BEYOND THE ORIGINAL BOUNDARIES OF ATTRACTING F.D.I.. THE PERVASIVENESS OF I.C.T. HAS ENABLED US TO ADVANCE AND ENRICH ALL ASPECTS OF OUR LIVES. INDEED, THE POWER OF TECHNOLOGY IS OBVIOUS IN THE MANNER IN WHICH I.C.T. CAN "ENABLE BUSINESSES, EMPOWER SOCIETIES AND ENRICH ECONOMIES".
8. THAT WAS EVIDENT IN THE LIVELY DISCUSSIONS THAT TOOK PLACE AT THE RECENT 'WORLD CONGRESS ON I.T.' (W.C.I.T. 2008) HELD HERE IN KUALA LUMPUR, WHICH EXPLORED THOSE VERY THEMES THROUGH PARTICIPANTS WHO CAME FROM MORE THAN 90 COUNTRIES. FROM BUSINESS LEADERS, ACADEMICIANS, NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS, ECONOMISTS AND INVENTORS - THESE THOUGHT - LEADERS GATHERED HERE AND SPOKE PASSIONATELY ABOUT I.C.T. AND ITS IMPACT LOCALLY AND GLOBALLY.
9. THE ENERGY AND EXCITEMENT GENERATED FROM THIS EVENT WAS INCREDIBLE, AND W.C.I.T. 2008 CLEARLY PLACED MALAYSIA ON THE I.C.T. WORLD MAP. THIS IS THE TRUE MEASURE OF W.C.I.T.'S SUCCESS - THAT IT MANAGED TO CHANGE PERCEPTIONS ABOUT OUR I.C.T. CAPABILITIES, DOMESTICALLY AND ABROAD. AND NOW OUR CHALLENGE MUST BE TO CONTINUE TO BUILD ON THE SUCCESSES ACHIEVED DURING THIS "OLYMPICS OF I.C.T.".
10. I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING M-DEC'S PROPOSALS TO BUILD ON THIS POSITIVE MOMENTUM. I AM TOLD THAT OUR AGENDA TODAY INCLUDES A DISCUSSION ON "M.S.C. MALAYSIA TWO POINT ZERO" (M.S.C. MALAYSIA 2.0), WHICH WILL DISCUSS HOW M-DEC FORESEES PLAYING A ROLE TO ASSIST IN MALAYSIA'S COMPETITIVENESS BEYOND THAT OF DEVELOPING THE I.C.T. INDUSTRY. AS HAS BEEN THE CASE, MY GOVERNMENT IS EVER WILLING TO CONSIDER NEW IDEAS AND FRESH SUGGESTIONS TO ENABLE M.S.C. MALAYSIA TO CLIMB TO GREATER HEIGHTS.
11. WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I INVITE DATO' BADLISHAM GHAZALI TO TAKE US THROUGH THE MEETING.
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