KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 6 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has today urged policymakers to address inequality and widen economic access for the poor, saying it should be a key goal of the government’s effort to spur the lucrative domestic digitalisation market.

While the Anwar administration has sought to tap the digital economy, he said such a project risks excluding the very people it is meant to help if policymakers still do things "the same old way” — ostensibly a reference to criticism that previous administrations often make big businesses and profits the primary driving force of its major economic policies.

"This must change,” Anwar said as he addressed this year’s edition of the Malaysian Digital Exposition here.

To tap into the digital economy, estimated to be worth half a trillion ringgit this year alone, Putrajaya has poured billions of ringgit into beefing up infrastructures and technologies like high-speed internet with the hope that it would boost income opportunities, especially for the poor.

"There must be a major paradigm shift and we must strive to change the way we do things,” Anwar said as he addressed this year’s edition of the Malaysian Digital Exposition here.

"In our conversation about digitalisation we cannot just aim for the sky and then forget about real change. It has to be more inclusive, must bridge inequality and the urban-rural divide and help the urban poor. Everytime we talk about accelerating development there is a tendency to exacerbate inequality,” he said.

He added that such practices "must change” as his Madani administration will not allow them to continue.

The South-east Asian digital economy is estimated to be worth half a trillion ringgit this year alone, and Putrajaya has poured billions of ringgit into beefing up infrastructures and technologies like high-speed internet with the hope that it would boost income opportunities, especially for the poor.

Malaysia's domestic digital economy is still nascent but is growing fast, accounting for close to a fifth of gross domestic product.

Between January to June this year, investment in the local digital market grew to RM24 billion from RM7.5 billion for the same period last year, according to Minister of Communications and Digital Fahmi Fadzil.

The digital economy includes e-commerce, e-marketplaces, online educational courses, streaming platforms, social media, video conferencing, work-from-home options, e-health

The government said it wants to grow the digital market up to 25 per cent of gross domestic product by 2025, making it a pillar sector in the push to make Malaysia reach "high-income status”.

"The urban-rural poor must not be deprived of the opportunity to enjoy this technology,” Anwar said today.