The Malaysian Insight

SMALL and medium enterprises will have to go digital or cease as online trading is a big part of the “new normal” in a post-coronavirus world, said Mustapa Mohamad today.

The push for greater digitalisation among SMEs will be at the centre of the 12th Malaysia Plan, which his office is drawing up and kick off next year.

“The coronavirus has drastically altered the economic landscape. Digitalisation is proceeding at an intense pace,” Mustapa told morning talk show Malaysia Hari Ini on TV3.

“If you’re an SME and you don’t have any capacity to go digital, then you are out,” said Mustapa, who is in charge of economic affairs at the prime minister’s department.

Putrajaya will be building on the economic changes wrought by the coronavirus, such as the hundred-fold increase in online retail, to get more SMEs and agencies onto the digital bandwagon.

E-commerce merchants have seen staggering increases in online shopping and services during the movement-control order (MCO) and traditional businesses have said they are sticking to such platforms even after the lockdown is lifted.

Mustapa cited the example of the Federal Agriculture Marketing Agency (Fama) whose sales on its agro-bazaar platform went from RM1 million last year to RM9 million in the past four months.

“We have groups, those who are already aware and proficient in using digitisation and those who do not see its relevancy yet. This last group we have to tackle.

“Because in order to survive, there is no other way. We are already seeing how the government is using apps, such as Sejahtera, Trace and Gerak.” – May 7, 2020.