Govts must transform society with right tools to drive policies on FIS

KUALA LUMPUR: Governments need to be ready with the right tools and approach to transform the society towards driving policies on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (FIS) so that the people would not be marginalised if they are left behind.
HELP University Vice Chancellor and President, Professor Datuk Dr Paul T H Chan said it was important to make some policies equal for the people in terms of wealth and income distribution so that they would be given opportunity to challenge themselves in the digital technology economy.
"Most likely, there would be some powerful countries, corporations and multinational companies that would monopolise the use of technology on the national and global level.
"So the moral and ethical consequences of digital technology must be recognised immediately by engaging with different communities as soon as possible so that they are equipped with the right mindset, competencies, resources and so on," he told reporters on the sidelines of HELP University's 20th Annual Convocation Strategy Seminar 2017 here, today.
Chan said the leadership and cooperation among ministries and agencies should also be aligned with industries, universities and training schools to accelerate the digital-driven economy.
He also said HELP University had started training its staff to be information technology (IT) savvy and would require new recruits to be IT savvy as well.
"We are also developing our own digital culture and competency and will be restructuring the curriculum with some added courses for our staff and the public to participate with the support of our partners around the world," he said.
Meanwhile, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation Sdn Bhd (MDEC) Data Economy Director Ir Dr Karl Ng said Malaysia was in a good position to capitalise on the FIS because the fundamentals through the Multimedia Super Corridor had been laid.
He said for the digital economy, the government alongside MDEC and other ministries and agencies were working towards increasing and enabling the fundamental ecosystem.
"For example, we have the Big Data framework that aims to harness the value of Big Data, and in order to empower the economy, talent development is crucial where we need to produce about 20,000 data professionals by 2020.
"In this regard, we are working closely with the Ministry of Higher Education and Human Resource Development Fund to ensure that sufficient talent is available for the country," said Ng.
Besides that, he said MDEC has ongoing efforts to transform people in the small and medium enterprises, schools, as well as communities on the adoption of technology and the Internet of Things to help them increase productivity and earn higher income.