THE government is determined to drive the development of digital economy to boost the nation’s economic growth, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.

He said the digital economy could also attract investors and encourage human capital development as well as research.

“Malaysia’s transformation towards digital economy could only be realised if the people immerse themselves in the digital culture and take part in digital transactions in a move towards becoming a cashless society,” he said.

Lim said the e-tunai rakyat incentive was one of the steps taken to drive digital economy, where a total of RM450 million would be disbursed to an estimated 15 million eligible recipients via selected e-wallet operators to boost cashless transactions.

“The cashless payment system is not only efficient but it also helps to reduce tax evasion,” he said delivering the new year mandate to the Finance Ministry’s staff recently.

The government would also be developing the necessary infrastructure for Digital Malaysia with help from the private sector, involving an investment of RM21.6 billion, where approximately half of the cost would be borne by the government, he said.

The government would also introduce the 5G ecosystem development grant worth RM50 million to accelerate technological development by companies in the wake of 5G advancement globally, said Lim.

Additionally, the government has allocated RM20 million to the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to develop local champions to create digital content such as e-games, animation and digital arts.

The government also planned to set up 14 one-stop digital enhancement centres in all states to facilitate access to financing and capacity building for businesses, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises with an allocation of RM70 million, he said. – Bernama, January 27, 2020.