Budget 2021: Tech brands largely positive on initiatives to revitalise Malaysia’s economy

Budget 2021 was tabled in Parliament by the Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul on 6 November. The Perikatan Nasional administration proposed a RM332 billion federal budget, the largest on record in Malaysia, in an attempt jumpstart an economy that has been battered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the highlights of the latest budget include RM1.5 billion in financial aid under the Program Jaringan Prihatin that provides RM180 in telco credit for B40 individuals, a one-off RM50 eWallet credit for youths aged 18 to 20 years old under the Program eBelia, designating RM27 million to Cybersecurity Malaysia to improve the nation’s cyber security, allocating RM42 million under the National Digital Network (JENDELA) and the issuance of RM1 billion for the Industry Digitalization Transformation Fund (IDTF).

Within the technology ecosystem, many prominent players have also released their respective commentaries on the latest budget. Companies including Trend Micro, Red Hat, Adobe, Airbnb, Cisco, Shopee and Ericsson have praised the government for its commitment to driving the growth of the nation’s digital economy.

Here’s a breakdown of how the players in the tech ecosystem have reacted to Budget 2021:

Red Hat

Country manager for Red Hat Malaysia Eric Quah said the company is encouraged by the government’s focus on the digital economy through the allocation of RM1 billion for the Industry Digitalization Transformation Fund.

We are also seeing a shift in the way people live and work, which requires organizations to rethink their teams, processes, and technologies in order to stay competitive. Working closely with our customers across various industry verticals, we have seen how digitalization efforts can help build long-term productivity. We are optimistic about the investment the government is making in digitalization, which represents an opportunity to support Malaysia’s long-term economic growth.

He added that organisations riding the wave of transformation will need to have an open and flexible IT foundation that can support new technologies, such as edge computing and AI. With the provision of an additional RM150 million under the SME Business Digitalization Grant to support automation and digitalisation of SMEs, organisations now have more ways to realise their digital transformation and innovation agenda.

Trend Micro

Trend Micro’s managing director Goh Chee Hoh commended the government’s continued commitment to Malaysia’s digital transformation as a key component of the nation’s post-pandemic recovery.

We commend the efforts to provide stable internet connection for students in tertiary institutions by upgrading the Malaysian Research and Education Network (MYREN) access from 500Mbps to 10Gbps, and the Skim BSN MyRinggit-i COMSIS laptop computer loan scheme that will support students in the new normal of digital learning.

He also applauded the government’s allocation of RM 27 million to CyberSecurity Malaysia to improve cybersecurity controls across the country, deterring cyberattacks that come at a staggering cost to organizations as well as individuals.

As we progress further in this digital age, the increased opportunities for growth brought about by digitalization must be balanced with prudent cybersecurity defences as a component of each organization’s digitalization roadmap.

Edotco Group

The chief executive officer of Edotco Group, Adlan Tajudin was pleased that the government was committed to advance the nation through seamless and accessible connectivity.

We are encouraged by the government’s allocations for the implementation of the National Digital Network (JENDELA) initiative alongside the RM7.4 billion being allocated for wider broadband coverage across the nation for the next two years. Efforts to extend connectivity and improve existing coverage, be it 3G or 4G are crucial steppingstones in creating an agile and future-ready telecommunications infrastructure industry.

Adlan believes that industry-wide collaboration between the government, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), regulators, local authorities and the private sector will be crucial to drive the recovery and advancement of the telecommunications sector for Malaysia.

Airbnb

Airbnb said it welcomes the government’s incentives to drive the recovery of the tourism industry as it is one of the hardest hit sectors by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Airbnb’s head of public policy (Southeast Asia) Mich Goh, the company welcomes measures to allow borrowers, individuals or micro-enterprises who are facing difficulties in honouring their loan to apply for postponement or reduced instalments.

She said:

We support the additional financing assistance amounting to RM1.2 billion, including the RM110 million allocated to the Micro Enterprises Facility for gig economy and self-employed entrepreneurs.

The company said these forms of financial aid can act as a much-needed reprieve to enable tourism players to continue weathering challenges brought on by the pandemic, particularly for members of the host community and micro-entrepreneurs. Airbnb said it would continue to discuss with the government to ensure the incentives extend to regular Malaysian hosts, whose livelihoods have been significantly impacted by this health and economic crisis.

We are ready and committed as ever to continue working with local partners, stakeholders and authorities to revitalize Malaysia’s tourism sector and economy, as we look to move forward into a new future of travel.

Shopee

E-commerce platform Shopee said it was encouraged by the government’s continuation of initiatives like Shop Malaysia Online as well as Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) E-commerce Campaign that are aimed at spurring local consumption, stabilising cash flow, boosting revenue as well as driving economic growth through e-commerce platforms.

Shopee regional managing director Ian Ho said, “Shopee will complement these initiatives and double our efforts to help businesses get onto the digital ecosystem through our free Shopee University seller workshop and in-app features such as Shopee Live, mobile wallet ShopeePay and more.”

We aim to build on the successes achieved through the PENJANA E-commerce initiatives. The Shop Malaysia Online which ran on Shopee from August to September saw some 83,000 participating local sellers and brands jointly recording over half a billion Ringgit in sales on our platform. The subsidies in the form of discounts, cashbacks and free shipping vouchers benefited close to 3 million Malaysians, thereby helping ease cost of living pressures.

Adobe

American software company Adobe applauded the government’s focus on narrowing the talent gap through initiatives such as the allocation of funding to MDEC to fill the growing needs of the ICT industry, and funding for The Ministry of Higher Education professional certification (KPT-PACE) to encourage further upskilling and professional certification for new graduates.

Adobe managing director for Southeast Asia Simon Dale said:

The expansionary measures set out in National Budget 2021 clearly outline the government’s strategy in elevating the employability of the Malaysian workforce and developing relevant skill sets that match emerging jobs, especially in the digital space. This will greatly shape the future of work in Malaysia and its economic resilience moving forward.

Adobe said it looks forward to working closely with the government to provide support in driving digital literacy, especially in the areas of data analytics, digital content creation, personalization and delivery. It said it has recently piloted the Adobe Programmatic League in Southeast Asia that provides customer experience (CX) digital skills training for public officers. It aims to extend the program into Malaysia soon and bring the digital trainings to benefit Malaysia public officers too.

Cisco

Cisco Malaysia managing director Albert Chai stated the budget exemplifies the government’s commitment towards aiding economic recovery while safeguarding the wellbeing and sustainability of the rakyat’s livelihoods, in line with the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030.

We commend Budget 2021’s measures to accelerate digital transformation in various areas and industries, including the emphasis on Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) technologies such as automation in the commodity and SME sector. This includes the allocation of RM1 billion under the Industry Digitalisation Transformation Scheme and additional RM150 million under the SME Digitalization Scheme Grant and Automation Grant that will spur the manufacturing and labor-intensive industries to rethink their strategies as reliance on human capital decreases, impact of border control measures continues and market demands changes.

Chai said he believes digital transformation readiness will be especially critical for the SMB sector to encourage operators and owners to turn what were started as stop-gap measures into long-term gains.

Overall, we are delighted that the 2021 Budget is committed to helping those most affected by the pandemic while laying the crucial groundwork for economic growth and recovery powered by digital technologies.

NetApp

NetApp country manager of Malaysia, Brunei and Philippines, Azrin Abd Shukor commended the government’s provisions to enable greater access to internet connectivity through the Jaringan PRIHATIN Programme for B40, the JENDELA programme for schools and businesses across the country, as well as the expansion of broadband services by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). All these initiatives are essential as it will democratise technology across all levels of society. This will subsequently empower people and businesses to learn, innovate and thrive.

We laud the government’s move in creating the High Technology Fund that will attract and retain global technology players in the country, subsequently helping Malaysia elevate the knowledge, skills and experience of its talents, making them global and future-ready.

NetApp believes that Budget 2021 is placing Malaysia on the right path towards preserving the people’s wellbeing, driving business continuity and strengthening the nation’s economic resilience.

We are hopeful that these will provide the impetus for Malaysians to create and innovate, developing solutions that can help medical frontliners and protect essential workers through the power of data and technology.  

WeWork

Samit Chopra managing director for Pacific of WeWork praised the government’s SME Digitization Grant Scheme and the Automation Grant that allocated an additional RM150 million to assist eligible startups and micro-SME. With SMEs a vital backbone of Malaysia’s GDP, the inclusivity of this support highlights the confidence to advance the nation as industries look to future-proof their businesses ahead for 2021.

WeWork applauds the government for its focused strategy on developing the workforce, where examples of the RM100 million allocation to the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) measure is a positive step towards supporting the evolvement of skills, innovation and amplification of their digital transformation initiatives.

WeWork said it would support its members as it innovate, scale and adapt, particularly in this current era where organizations need to pivot to new business models.

Ericsson Malaysia

David Hägerbro, Head of Ericsson Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh applauded the government’s commitment to continue driving the growth of the country’s digital economy and road to Industry Revolution 4.0 by allocating RM42 million under the National Digital Network (JENDELA) to increase coverage quality in 25 industrial areas.

Ericsson strongly supports the government’s efforts to upgrade network connections across 430 schools within the country across all states with RM500 million from JENDELA. Additionally, the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission’s (MCMC) assignment of RM7.4 billion in 2021 to 2022 to expand broadband connectivity is a sure step in the right direction for quality coverage.

Ericsson believes that the successful rollout of 5G hinges on the great incentives and provisions within Budget 2021. This will pave the way for the government, businesses, and citizens to deliver groundbreaking solutions to the pandemic, that can reach all levels of society.

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