By Alang Bendahara
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 19 — Selangor’s initiatives to empower entrepreneurs in the state to embrace digitalisation has attracted interest from all levels of society.
Selangor Information Technology and Digital Economy Corporation (Sidec) chief executive officer Yong Kai Ping said contrary to popular belief, the digital economy does not only attract urban entrepreneurs.
“Most people think the digital economy is only for urban people, but in actuality rural entrepreneurs really like it too.
“We have two examples of a ‘makcik’ who sells cakes and a ‘pakcik’ who sells ‘sambal’ in Sabak Bernam and Sepang (respectively).
“When they joined the campaign, their incomes increased by two- or three-fold, from RM1,000 or RM2,000, to between RM4,000 and RM9,000,” he said during the panel session ‘Innovate Business — Virtual is Real’ at the Selangor Asean Business Conference (SABC) 2021 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, here today.
Yong said the trend in Selangor surprisingly indicates that urban folks are now buying vegetables and fruits sold on e-commerce platforms by rural entrepreneurs.
He said the e-commerce prospect in the country is moving fast, and may soon be on par with that of other developed countries.
“If delivery of goods bought through e-commerce platforms can be reduced from two days to one day, and from one day to four hours or two hours, then Malaysians can start buying tissues and bread daily via online.
“When that happens we will reach the top tier in the e-commerce industry such as in China, the United States, and South Korea, which are rapidly moving towards that stage,” he said.
For that to become a reality, Yong said the Malaysian logistics industry needs to improve.
“Once we reach that level, robotics will be needed to process and carry products, which will have QR codes and magnets.
“This is similar to China. In fact, some factories in Penang are also beginning to use robotics,” he said.
Yong added that the improvement of the logistics sector will also result in the creation of high-quality jobs.
