CM: State to provide right eco-system for progress

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Abang Johari presenting his keynote address at the Sarawak Dialogue in Kuching yesterday. — Bernama photo

KUCHING: The state government will strive to provide the right eco-system for Sarawakians to develop their talents in the digital sector.

In stating this, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said he was aware that many Sarawakians, including those overseas, have the talent in digital technology.

“I know Sarawakians have the talent. We just have to provide the right eco-system for them to develop their talents.

“If we have the eco-system, Sarawakians overseas will come back,” he told a press conference after presenting his keynote address at the Sarawak Dialogue here yesterday.

Abang Johari, however, believes that when it comes to talents, the economy must be matched with what they have acquired or studied overseas.

He said what happened now was that these talents had been saying: ‘Why should I come back because my training is not applicable to the development that is taking place in our state’.

Because of that, he noted that these talents decided to stay overseas.

“We have to raise the economy so that they match with what they have studied. Let’s say, in information or digital technology you need cyber security; you need people who are expert in detecting crime that is connected with cyber.

“Meaning we have to get students. May be there are students who are interested in cyber security, they study overseas. But what will happen to them the moment they graduate.

“There is no digital economy. Therefore we need to have digital economy here, so they will come back,” he said.

Abang Johari said if Sarawak can have big data in biodiversity, what the talents in digital technology could do if they come here is to safeguard the properties in the big data otherwise it can be retrieved by other people.

He said having big data means cyber security, programming and bio-chemistry are now the new disciplines in terms of identifying properties for health care.

“We have the resources for our health care; herbal medicine, pharmacy. If we have all these sorts of digital economy, these students will come back,” he said.

Abang Johari said Sarawak has the potential to become a developed state in digital economy because it has the strength.

He noted that the state’s strength lies in the cheap, renewable energy and water.

“That is why the government is willing to allocate RM7 to RM8 billion for us to implement the state water grid because water must be there.

“My cabinet, my team, we have decided to spend RM7 to RM8 billion to construct our water grid,” he said.

Abang Johari noted that the Industry 4.0 had really revolutionised the way people think on how they do their jobs.

He said facebook, instagram, wechat and many other online social platforms had already changed the way people connect with each other and for the people in Sarawak to leapfrog, they have to bypass Industry 3.0 because the state had not even reached the maximum of Industry 2.0.

“But if you are having incremented approach, moving step-by-step, you will be there but you are always behind.

“So what we have to do is we have to bypass that,” he said.