Malaysian National Budget 2014 – MDeC’s Budget Commentary

October 25, 2013

YBhg Datuk Badlisham Ghazali

Chief Executive Officer,

Multimedia Development Corporation Berhad (MDeC)

Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) approves the progressive Budget 2014 that not only addresses Malaysia’s financial outlook concerns, but also provides the means for greater economic development and progress for the rakyat and businesses.

We are encouraged by the announcement of the second phase of high speed broadband (HSBB) to expand coverage and internet speeds as this will serve to drive Internet usage and higher productivity. This is a big boost for Digital Malaysia and will serve as a very important catalyst to drive us towards a Digital Economy. The more people and businesses get on-line, the quicker we as a country can drive our levels of production, efficiency and ultimately improve the quality of life of our citizens.

Additionally, expanding internet access in schools, particularly in the rural areas is a critical factor in empowering the Bottom 40 community with digital access and capabilities – critical to the Digital Malaysia initiative.

With regards to boosting entrepreneurship and youth development in Malaysia, we are pleased with the announcement of 1Malaysia Entrepreneurship Programme (1MET) a framework designed to assist and mentor youth in social entrepreneurship which involve 5,000 Malaysian youth. We are confident that with the introduction of 1MET, Malaysia will consolidate all efforts in developing young entrepreneurs in a more coordinated manner. In addition, this will enable them to grow their businesses by leveraging on public and private sector resources.

We are also happy with the allocation of RM50 million by the Prime Minister to set up MaGIC. This is certainly a positive move to further encourage the creation of a robust entrepreneurship ecosystem in Malaysia. With MaGIC, Malaysian entrepreneurs in industries such as creative multimedia, R&D, outsourcing and data management will have easy access to various facilities including funding, incubation, and mentoring - all under one roof.

As for talent and training, we are pleased with the incentives given under Budget 2014 for companies which cover partial operational cost for human capital development in Research & Development. This will help spur innovation amongst companies and entrepreneurs.

We are also excited about the integrated package to increase innovation and productivity of SMEs under the Green Lane policy. MDeC certainly sees ICT as a key enabler for this game-changing transformation for SMEs.

We commend the Prime Minister on the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). We believe this will encourage innovation and risk taking which is an attribute that true entrepreneurs have. This will ultimately achieve the aim of elevating the standard of living of our people. With greater spending power of the people, we will also progressively decrease our dependency on government subsidies in the long run.

In summary, we believe that Budget 2014 is a holistic budget for all that will bridge the digital divide between rural and urban areas as well as between the low income and high income group, increase opportunities for entrepreneurs, start-ups and established local businesses alike and encourage and spur the culture of innovation across all levels of society.