September-October , 2020 | @ green

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Malaysia 5.0 – putting the rakyat at the heart of the Digital Economy Masterplan

By Ameen Kamal

core policy framework where the rakyat is put first must be at the heart of any national economic masterplan .

This is to ensure that the trajectory of Malaysia ’ advancement ( in all aspects ) is towards the creation of a society where , ultimately , society ’ s problems and issues are addressed .

After all , what good is a ‘ high-income ’ technologically advanced nation , if issues affecting the people such as inequality and job losses continue to persist , if not worsen ?

“ Malaysia 5.0 ” is a policy framework that can be integrated at the core of the Digital Economy Masterplan , which is a foreseeable overarching national-level initiative to expand digital transformation to all sectors .

Inspired by Japan ’ s Society 5.0 , it provides a core principle of a problem-solving approach to society ’ s challenges and problems by putting the rakyat at the centre of the technological revolution , altering the ecosystem of digitalisation from technology-driven to society-driven .

The Digital Economy Masterplan is targeted to be launched in October and would mostly involve the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation ( MDec ) and the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia .

The unveiling of the masterplan by the Minister in the Prime Minister ’ s Department ( Economy ) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed on Aug 13 coincides nicely with the Malaysia 5.0 concept that has been coined and championed by MDec Chairman Datuk Wira Dr . Rais Hussin since May this year .

According to Datuk Seri Mustapa , a study on the Fourth Industrial Revolution ( 4IR ) will be finalised and merged with the digital economy .

This indicates the masterplan would integrate and align other related national initiatives such as the National Policy on Industry 4.0 ( Industry4WRD ) which was introduced by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry ( MITI ) last year , and the National Technology and Innovation Sandbox ( NTIS ) spearheaded by the Ministry of Science , Technology and Innovation ( MOSTI ) and recently launched on Aug19 .

The envisioned inter-ministerial collaboration and the resulting effort in coordinating the many agencies involved in the promotion of the growth of the digital sector is also entirely in sync with the “ Unity Alliance ” concept under Malaysia 5.0 .

This concept envisions a unified coalition of not only government stakeholders but also industry players working together to build a supportive ecosystem through the development of infrastructure , talents , technologies and policies .

This concerted effort is necessary to ensure successful digital transformation nationwide . However , ensuring that the people become the ultimate beneficiary of the technological revolution requires a rakyat-centric principle to be at the core of the digital economy .

With Malaysia 5.0 serving as the glue that binds the “ Unity Alliance ”, the techno-economic coalition under the Digital Economy Masterplan would be guided to serve society in its migration into the digital age ultimately .

It is worth recognising that Malaysia needs to establish itself in the desirable elements of “ Society 4.0 ” first before pursuing “ Malaysia 5.0 ”.

However , key pillars of Society 4.0 need to be rooted in Malaysia 5.0 principles now to allow a course-correction on its trajectory of becoming the highly touted ‘ high income ’, ‘ high tech ’ nation with the theme of digital inclusion , digital equity and technology reciprocity with the rakyat at the centre .

According to an article by the Chairman of Keidanren ( Japan Business Federation ) Hiroaki Nakanishi which was published in the World Economic Forum ( WEF ), the common themes of Society 4.0 include :

• Efficiencies / economies of scale ;

This concept envisions a unified coalition of not only government stakeholders but also industry players working together to build a supportive ecosystem through the development of infrastructure , talents , technologies and policies .”

Shopping on smart phone with scanning facial recognition .

• Mass standardisations / uniformity of things and society leading to suppression of individuality ;

• concentration of knowledge , information , resources , and power , causing disparity in opportunities ;

• Vulnerability due to personal and public security ; and

• Mass consumption of resources with large environmental impacts . In contrast , he summarises that Society 5.0 is the society in which “ anyone can create value anytime , anywhere , with security and in harmony with nature ”. This is the people-centric model that Malaysia 5.0 intends to emulate , and integrate into current initiatives and policies to ensure Malaysia ’ s path of technological and economic development doesn ’ t fall into the various limitations of Society 4.0 .

Lockdowns and movement restrictions due to the Covid- 19 pandemic have accelerated the migration of society from the physical world into the digital space .

Malaysia ’ s ensuing recovery from the socio-economic impact of the pandemic – which has thus far plunged Malaysia ’ s GDP to contract 17.1 per cent in the second half of 2020 – is significantly dependent on the proper use and acceleration of IR4.0 technology adoption , integration , and development .

Digital Transformation , which is the key enabler of the Digital Economy , is an inevitable phenomenon as the world shifts into the 4IR and migrates to the digital era .

However , without a people-centric framework such as Malaysia 5.0 , the 4IR can be ( at its worst ) the final iteration of uninhibited and unregulated capitalism .

At the corporate level , transformations solely led by scientific and technological innovations in digitisation , automation , high-tech surveillance and artificial-intelligence hold the promise to be highly efficient at improving profits .

However , in the absence of a policy that puts the wellbeing of the people first , such a system would do little to improve the lives of the vast majority of the public .

Rather than improving prosperity for all , the technologyenabled corporate-centric bottom line-driven revolution can lead to even more inequality and job displacements .

At the government level for example , the use of high-tech surveillance ( through various technologies such as cuttingedge video analytics ) can assist in improving security . Still , without proper guidance , it can be misused to mine for people ’ s data for the wrong reasons .

In this scenario , the integration of personal information ’ big data ’ with AI can be wrongfully exploited by the government to increase control and by corporations for their benefits .

In these examples , without a people-centric governing philosophy and framework such as Malaysia 5.0 , technology serves to exploit the people , instead of helping them .

As warned by Shoshana Zuboff , professor emerita at Harvard Business School in the book “ The Age of Surveillance Capitalism ”, surveillance capitalism undermines autonomy and democracy .

History indicates that severe inequality ( at whichever stage of the industrial revolution ), loss of privacy , undermined freedom , and the sense of limited free-will can lead to civil unrest and ultimately , system implosion .

Instead of exploiting the people through the use of advance technology , Malaysia 5.0 puts the Rakyat at the centre of the technological revolution . The well-being of the masses is the objective , instead of the groups being exploited for the benefit of the few . — @ green

Ameen Kamal is the Head of Science & Technology at EMIR Research , an independent think tank focused on strategic policy recommendations based on rigorous research .