ANWAR Ibrahim today pledged that information and communications technology, and its growth will be the national priority when he becomes prime minister.

“Don’t ask me about jargon. I’ve spent more time in prison than outside,” he told industry leaders at the Pikom Unicorn Tech awards in Kuala Lumpur tonight.

“However, I have a clear vision, which is that if we want to succeed, this industry must remain the main focus of Malaysia going forward,” he said to an estimated audience of 1,000 people, including National Tech Association of Malaysia (Pikom) chairman Ganesh Kumar Bengah, industry leaders and representatives.

Anwar said his government would likely appoint a “tech tsar” to cut down on the red tape and guide growth, as India did under former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

The PKR president was responding to a critical speech by Ganesh, who commented there are too many agencies and ministries with oversight over the ICT industry.

“Pikom for the past 15 years has been advocating a tech ministry that oversees the entire tech industry,” said Ganesh.

“It can be cumbersome because what we lack is a clear and focused agenda,” Anwar said in response, adding that a tech tsar can ensure the implementation of any government policy can be quick and support the growth of software companies.

“We will focus on this issue, otherwise it will become contentious and tedious in the bureaucratic process,” Anwar said.

“We have to look at what our neighbours are doing, not what we did 10 years ago. We cannot allow ourselves to be left behind.”

Meanwhile, Anwar also pledged to address the issue of inequality and ensure that those suffering from “grinding poverty” do not get left behind.

“We want a democratisation of access. The most successful players must make sure that they adhere to humane economics.

“There is this new dimension that is largely ignored in many societies, which is unbridled capitalism that benefits the few at the cost of many.”

The awards ceremony was held for the first time in collaboration with Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Malaysia Asia Pacific ICT Alliance Awards and Global Business Services (GBS) Asia Awards. – October 3, 2019.