Najib encourages Malaysians to embrace digital economy

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak wants every Malaysian to be active participants as the country moves towards embracing digital economy.
He acknowledged that a fourth global industrial revolution was in the making, with digital economy set to replace conventional economy in the near future.
As such, he said the public should move forward with the changes or risk seeing the country get left behind.
"I want every citizen to not only be a spectator, but become active participants in what is to be the era of the fourth industrial revolution.
"If we don't move with changes, we could end up extinct like the dinosaurs," he said during a light-hearted dialogue session at the 2016 Daya eUsahawan Conference, here, today.
The eUsahawan programme was launched in November last year by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to inspire and provide exposure to local entrepreneurs to embrace and maximise digital entrepreneurship.
Najib said when he was first proposed the eUsahawan programme, he approved it willingly, knowing that the e-commerce sector could provide hefty returns.
"In digital economy, it's not strange to achieve 50% profit gain in a month. No other forms of economy can achieve that, which is why I supported it," he said.
Later when met by reporters, Najib, while congratulating American businessman Donald Trump for his presidential victory, said he was convinced economic partnership between the nations will remain strong.
He said the victory also proved that Americans wanted to break from their conventional ways of voting a known politician and their openness to seeing changes.
Stressing that media commentators have been proven wrong and the results anticipated by experts have been overturned, Najib said that Trump's success in the polls showed that politicians should never take voters for granted.
"The world has watched this year's presidential election with fascination. Opinion polls, and established political figures, all underestimated the strength of his support.
"His appeal to Americans who have been left behind – those who want to see their government more focused on their interests and welfare, and less embroiled in foreign interventions that proved to be against US interests – have won Mr Trump the White House," he said.
Najib also expressed his hope of meeting Trump and continuing the warm relationship between both countries.
"In 2014 the US and Malaysia elevated our relationship to a comprehensive partnership, and we are firm allies in the worldwide fight against terrorism and extremism. We look forward to continuing this partnership under President-elect Trump," he said.