Malaysia Centre for 4IR to accelerate nation’s digital economy and green energy transition

• Partners World Economic Forum to establish Malaysia Centre for 4IR
• Thematic focus on digital transformation and green energy transition

The Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Malaysia (Malaysia Centre for 4IR) was officially launched yesterday by the Minister of Economy, Rafizi Ramli and the President of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Børge Brende.

Hosted by MyDIGITAL Corporation with its CEO, Fabian Bigar also acting as Head of Malaysia Centre for 4IR.  With thematic focuses for some of the WEF’s Centres the Malaysia centre will focus on the digital economy and energy and is expected to play a crucial role in driving the advancement of both in Malaysia. Further details of the workings of the Centre will be shared by MyDigital later.

The World Economic Forum describes its global Centre for 4IR network, which it launched in March 2017, as a platform for multi stakeholder collaboration, bringing together the public and private sectors to maximize technological benefits to society while minimizing the risks associated with 4IR technologies.

In both his speech and press conference, Rafizi stressed that the Malaysia Centre for 4IR will serve as a public-private platform, bringing together leaders from government, business, civil society, academia and other sectors to advance new partnerships and initiatives that can unlock the value of technology for Malaysia's economy and society. The government envisions the Centre, based in the Klang Valley, to play a key role in transforming Malaysia into a digitally-driven, high-income nation with inclusive growth and in the process, become a regional leader.

With this launch, Malaysia joins a community of 18 other Centres, among them in Oslo, Norway, UAE, Hyderabad, India and Istanbul, Turkey, where new and innovative approaches to technology governance, adoption and scaling are being developed and implemented at the national, regional and international levels.

The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim said in his pre-recorded opening speech, “Malaysia is honoured to be part of the global network of Centres for the Fourth Industrial Revolution with the first Centre for 4IR  in Southeast Asia. This is a testament to the critical value of Malaysia’s efforts to become an advanced, digitally-driven, high-income nation and a regional digital economy leader fostering innovation, entrepreneurship and collaborations between stakeholders. The Malaysia Centre for 4IR will further strengthen Malaysia's human-centred policy towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution and contribute towards our target of entering the Top 20 in the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Innovation Index (Malaysia ranked 36^th in 2022). We are confident that a resilience-oriented approach will also improve the nation’s People's Wellbeing Index score and enhance productivity to create inclusive, balanced, responsible and sustainable economic growth.”

Addressing the audience, Brende said: “Malaysia's leadership in the region and commitment to driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution is commendable. Through the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Malaysia, we are excited to work together with the government, business, and civil society leaders to unlock the value of technology for the benefit of all Malaysians.”

Rafizi said, “Today’s launch reflects a critical insight in Malaysia’s innovation journey: Innovation is a team sport and collaboration is essential. The economic case for innovation has become indisputable through the decades. The Malaysian Centre for 4IR shall act as a necessary impetus, starting with a dual focus of energy transition and digital transformation.”
Following the official launch, the Centre hosted two roundtable discussions to address its thematic priorities, inviting leaders from business, government and other sectors to share their key priorities and opportunities. These insights will serve as the foundation for the Malaysia Centre for 4IR's core initiatives, informing its strategic planning and program development.

Fabian Bigar, CEO of MyDigital said, “MyDigital team is proud to be entrusted with the responsibility of making Centre for 4IR Malaysia a success. Prior to this, we have been dedicating our efforts to driving quality growth in Malaysia’s digital economy guided by the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint and National 4IR Policy to spur Malaysia’s transformation into a high-tech nation by 2030. The establishment of the Centre aligns with and further fortifies our initiatives to catalyse homegrown technology development by enhancing collaborative opportunities among stakeholders to unlock value in 4IR technologies, with a focus on supporting the country's energy transition and digital transformation.”

By joining the global ecosystem of technology governance innovators and leaders, Malaysia Centre for 4IR is poised to contribute significantly to Malaysia's economic and social development in the years to come.