KUCHING: Any leader who will bring forward the future must visualise the future itself, said Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg. “A leader has to determine the components that will drive development and the people to upgrade the standards of living for the betterment of their future,” he said at the closing of 2nd Asia Leadership Forum titled Exercising Leadership in The 21st Century: A Forum of Powerful Ideas from Harvard University at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here, yesterday.
On leadership, Abang Johari said that people would look into the traits of a leader to determine whether the leader possesses a vision and how the vision would be realised into something that benefits his people.
“The first thing I did when I became the chief minister was to launch the digital economy – using technology as the main drive to develop the state. It is not easy because you have to establish an ecosystem for this technology,” he said.
“We are lacking in digital infrastructure so what we did was to put aside RM1 billion to upgrade our digital infrastructures.
“For Sarawak, the only connectivity is to have this digital connectivity. Unfortunately, we have black spots where some places do not have connectivity at all. If there is, the speed would be 5mbps and it is to be shared by the population.
“That is why the state government is steadily upgrading the infrastructures throughout the state in order to connect the population particularly the higher learning institution,” he said.
According to Abang Johari, in line with the effort to develop the state, the government will also focus on talent development and on the importance of training the people using technology.
“First thing they teach in business schools is how to manage change. Change is the key and how are you going to manage that particular change.”
Sharing a comparison of 30 years ago and the present, Abang Johari pointed out a significant change in how people are becoming obsessed with mobile phones and social media. He then further questioned time management under the influence of technology.
He also mentioned how marketing strategies have changed over the influence of technology where media-based marketing such as radio and television, is no longer relevant and that the world is evolving into community-based marketing.
On Sarawak’s current change, Abang Johari noted the progress of establishing a new economic industry on durian export to China and the establishment of the state’s first mobile or digital payment via Sarawak Pay.
He added: “Sarawak has a lot of resources such as a power system and cheapest tariff, water and the resourceful human capital. The only thing left is to translate them into our strength in terms of comparative advantage.
“Even if we have technological devices, we must be able to operate the devices.”
Apart from that, Abang Johari said the state still needs the people to do their part and embark on areas such as data analytics, cyber security and design programming.
To him, the leaders of tomorrow need to have these pre-requisites or otherwise, it would not be compatible.
Also present at the closing ceremony were Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian, Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring Assistant Minister Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali and Deputy State Secretary Datuk Sabariah Putit.
