KOTA KINABALU: Corporate bodies, businesses and government departments must embrace change and innovation in order to succeed in this digital world, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Raymond Tan Shu Kiah.
Tan, who is also the Minister of Industrial Development, said the Internet of things and technology had changed business models and the way things were done.
He said organizations needed to catch up with technology or else they would be left behind.
Although adopting new technology could be stressful for the older generation, they had to embrace change for the future of their children and grandchildren, he said.
“There comes a point in time where we need to accept and decide to embrace technology in order to move forward in this digital world,” Tan said when officiating at the closing ceremony of the first National Corporate Innovation Index (NCII) workshop in Sabah here yesterday.
Tan said a fresh mart in Damai which he used to patronize had closed down despite good business because the owner had difficulty dealing with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) system, bar coding and registration.
“Business models need to change.
“If you do, you will find that technology is helping you and enabling you to capture a much bigger market.”
By digitizing businesses, Tan said operators would be able to monitor their growth and track the progress.
He said the workshop yesterday, organized by the National Innovation Agency Malaysia (AIM) in collaboration with POIC Sabah Sdn Bhd as venue sponsor and Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MICCI) Sabah, aimed to introduce the NCII and providing a template for all organizations, including government agencies and departments.
“It is to encourage change, more effective delivery system, and upscale performance to provide better results.
“The results is not just measured by income or revenue for businesses, but also the ability to serve for government departments,” Tan said.
Meanwhile, Abdullah Arshad, AIM executive vice president, Corporate Sector Innovation and Strategic Impact Projects, added that the workshop aimed to encourage organizations, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and government agencies, to think of innovation as their main agenda in the organization.
“Hopefully, we will be able to spur some innovative corporate governance in the workshop in ensuring we know how to propel innovation agenda in the organization.”
The NCII Toolkit introduced in the workshop yesterday aims to promote innovation management, as well as to provide a mechanism that assists companies to carry out investments more effectively.
First launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at the Innovating Malaysia Conference 2014, the NCII is an Innovation Management Toolkit developed by AIM in collaboration with Nesta, a United Kingdom non-profit foundation for innovation, and validated by 14 Malaysian public-listed companies such as Sime Darby, Petronas, AirAsia and Maybank.
The workshop emphasized the vitality of the innovation factor for consumers, corporations and nations, and provided insights on how innovativeness drive improvements in consumers’ living standards and overall satisfaction, the growth and success of corporations, and how this factor is becoming the new basis for the wealth of nations.
NCII was born from a policy recommendation within the National Innovation Strategy and provides companies with a comprehensive overview of crucial areas for managing innovation in a systematic and holistic approach.