By Yasmin Ramlan
SHAH ALAM, Oct 18 — The eighth edition of the Selangor Smart City and Digital Economy Convention (SDEC), which will take place for four days starting tomorrow, will feature a series of insightful dialogues and discussions on quality topics.
Selangor Information Technology and Digital Economy Corporation (Sidec) chief executive officer Yong Kai Ping said the convention, which is part of the Selangor International Business Summit (SIBS) 2023, will see the participation of over 60 influential speakers, including international panellists.
“We want to showcase the technologies and also the talent. In short, we want to highlight the whole ecosystem,” he told Selangor Journal in a recent interview.
According to Yong, among the forums’ topics are ‘SME Digitalisation Summit: Driving Million Dollar Growth in the Digital Era’, ‘SME ESG Summit: Accelerating Sustainable Transformation in Retail Supply Chains’, and ‘AI, Net Zero and Biotech Investor Summit’.
Some of the speakers and exhibitors that will take part in SDEC are Lazada, Affin Bank, Amazon Web Services, Google, Microsoft, Malaysia Venture Capital Management and Cradle Fund.
In total, Yong said SDEC will feature 250 booths, with an expected 15,000 visitors throughout the convention.
Chance to promote, publicise
Yong said SDEC offers companies and startups the opportunity to expand their businesses and seek potential funds and investments.
This is particularly crucial considering local companies are often overlooked and do not gain as much publicity despite boasting outstanding and world class technological capabilities.
“This is the first time in a conference that we are not only talking about technology, but we want to gather everyone (industry players), including end users, buyers and funders,” he said, stressing on the importance of funding agencies.
“Many don’t understand why the US and China’s technologies are so advanced. One of the reasons is because of funding… their venture capital is very strong,” he said.
In Malaysia, Yong pointed out that many local tech players lack the skills to market their companies and products.
Realising this, he said SDEC will serve as a platform to better promote local startups to be more visible to potential investors.
“We have to admit our weakness, that local firms’ publicity is bad. We have a lot of world class technologies but domestically, the private and public sectors don’t use it.
“We want to change that. We want to let investors know that Malaysia has all it takes,” he said.
Opportunities in AI industry
On a separate matter, Yong expressed his concern over the lack of talent in the local artificial intelligence (AI) industry, pointing out that many Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) graduates are opting for gig jobs instead.
This is despite jobs in the AI industry offering an average salary of between RM3,500 to RM8,000 for entry to mid-level positions.
While gig jobs such as delivery riders and e-hailing drivers have gained popularity among fresh graduates due to their relatively good pay, Yong cautioned against viewing them as long-term, stable employment.
“We think in the long-term, technology companies, which are expanding significantly, should be the number one choice. The challenge in Malaysia for these firms is they can’t find workers.”
With the rapid evolution of the AI industry, Yong said these local firms see the importance of attracting and retaining young, dynamic talent and are ready to offer competitive salaries.
“Some interns are being paid RM1,500 because tech companies are so thirsty for talent,” he said.
Meanwhile, Yong said Sidec’s Selangor Digital School is collaborating with several industry players to identify and develop potential young talents on AI technology.
Among the parties involved in this collaboration are the state government, Menteri Besar Selangor (Incorporated) or MBI, and Penjana Kapital Sdn Bhd.
