KUCHING, March 18 — Sarawak is going towards a future that no longer depends on gender or race but the ability of a person, said Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg.

"When you talk about empowerment you have to see what the future is. When we launched our digital economy, it does not look at gender. Digital economy looks at who can command digitalisation, who can command the technology. Therefore, the question of gender does not arise, as it depends on the person who has that command of technology.

"If you are able to command knowledge and technology, the gender equality is there because technology doesn’t distinguish between a lady and a man,” he said at the opening ceremony of the National Conference on Dayak Women 2022 themed ‘Dayak Women Making a Difference’ today.

Abang Johari noted that a right environment has to be created for people to prosper within the economic agenda.

"When I talk about the environment, it is a social environment too. Not only our surroundings but the social environment, meaning the interactions among people. They share networking, they share a common platform, they share the same technology for them to move forward.

"It is for us to establish our trust, at the same time to establish networking. If a rural Dayak woman has a networking relationship with an urban woman then the marketing sphere is expanded and that will become an income and a change to the rural woman,” he said.

Abang Johari said that Sarawak already has the right social environment where people trust each other because the government policies are inclusive.

He pointed out that many multinational companies (MNCs) now have chief executive officers (CEO) who are women because they are capable of being in the role.

"The private sector only see the bottom line, as long as the bottom line is there, they will take you as CEO. That is the trend of the future.

"Therefore, the state government policies now are to prepare for that era. The digital era, the technological era and the era where empowerment will be automatic as a result of that particular environment,” he said.

Also present were Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, and Minister for Modernisation of Agriculture and Regional Development Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom, Tan Sri Empiang Jabu Research Chair Prof Datuk Dr Jayum Jawan, Sarakup Indu Dayak Sarawak (SIDS) chairperson Dato Alice Jawan Empaling, and others. — Borneo Post