Telecoms & IT

In 2014 Malaysia’s ICT sector ranked highly in international indices, including internet and telephony competition, knowledge absorption and cluster development among other measures. Out of Malaysia’s population of 30m, 15.2m people use the most popular networking sites, spending an average of 16 hours a week online, far more than their counterparts in other South-east Asian countries. With a good base of talent, skills and technology, a wide range of supporting policies and programmes, an active local market and a good reputation, Malaysia has built an impressive foundation in IT. It now has to focus on going from a strong local player to becoming a regional leader and finding a way to establish its IT corporations and entrepreneurs internationally. This chapter contains interviews with Zam Isa, CEO, Telekom Malaysia; and Badlisham Ghazali, Former CEO, Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC).