KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 — The Digital Ministry has announced that digital investments totalling RM141.72 billion were approved in the first 10 months of this year.

Minister Gobind Singh Deo said that in the January-October 2024 period, 41,078 job opportunities were created in the digital economy sector.

"The ministry has determined that the implementation of national digitalisation programmes and initiatives should prioritise the strengthening of the digital infrastructure, cyber resilience and digital talent development.

"Our focus is on how to attract investments, get more attention for Malaysia as a digital hub and create jobs in Malaysia in order to support the new ecosystem,” he said in winding up the debate on the Supply Bill 2025 at the policy stage for his ministry in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Gobind said the National Council of Digital Economy and Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has been formed to monitor the implementation of the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint and National 4IR Policy.

"At this time, the country is in Phase 2 (2023-2025), focusing on efforts to drive inclusive digital transformation by emphasising inclusivity among members of the society and all business levels.

"The next phase (2026-2030) is set to make Malaysia a producer of digital products and provider of digital solutions for the regional market,” he said.

Meanwhile, he noted that the Johor government is studying 36 applications for data centre infrastructure development in the state.

According to Gobind, as of October 2024, 10 data centres had begun operations while seven were in the process of development in Johor.

"The government is always balancing the need for data centre development with the areas’ potential for broader economic growth.

"The planning for areas dedicated for data centres such as the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) is aimed at maximising economic spillover by attracting high technology investments and potentially generating high income for the people,” he said. — Bernama