NEWS: Emphasis on creativity the right move

PETALING JAYA: The Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) is encouraged that the Government has set up a RM200mil creativity fund aimed at further boosting Malaysia’s animation, advertisement, music, film, and content industries.

“The plan, laid out in the Prime Minister’s budget speech, provides a solid start to creating an innovative and creative culture in Malaysians,” said Datuk Badlisham Ghazali, chief executive officer of MDeC.

“It is also a recognition of the convergence that is happening with all those different media.”

MDeC is caretaker of the country’s MSC Malaysia initiative which was started to leapfrog the nation’s ICT use and build up its knowledge-based economy.

The Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry of Malaysia (Pikom) is just as pleased that the Government is putting emphasis on encouraging Malaysians to be more creative.

“There is a great demand for animation and animators worldwide now and Malaysia has the resources to be a major player in this segment. And it all starts with tapping into the creativity of our people,” said Pikom chairman Wei Chuan Beng.

One path towards that goal is to get computers into the hands of as many Malaysians as possible and as quickly as we can, according to him.

So it is timely that the Government is offering netbooks and broadband access to university students at a low cost — just RM50 a month for two years.

Badlisham agreed with Wei. “Encouraging the students to go online is paramount if we are to create a society of knowledge workers,” Badlisham said. “Also, the Government has a better incentive now to get civil servants to own computers.”

SME boost

MDeC and Pikom said the 2010 budget hands small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) a huge incentive to embrace ICT (information and communications technology).

The incentive from the Government is a RM100mil fund for capacity enhancement that targets local SMEs.

Wei said SME expenditure on ICT would be covered by this capacity enhancement fund.

“This is the good news that we have been waiting for,” he said. “The fund will encourage more SMEs to start adopting the technology which will enhance their businesses.”

Such successes will lead many of these homegrown businesses to explore international markets, which will in turn benefit the country.