KUCHING: To further enhance data-driven economic growth, the state government will continue to develop policies for public and private sector data access, said Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.
He added that they would also continue to enhance data centres which would include meeting data hosting requirements, government open data platform, as well as Big Data and data analytics platforms for data analysis, research, innovation, and commercialisation.
“These will be addressed as part of the 2030 Digital Economy Strategy,” he said when officiating at the International Digital Economy Conference Sarawak (Idecs) 2020 opening ceremony at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here on Wednesday (Oct 7).
He expressed confidence that with careful planning, commitment, and hard work, Sarawak would be able to achieve its ambitious vision of becoming a thriving society driven by data and innovation, where everyone would enjoy economic prosperity, social inclusivity, and a sustainable environment by 2030.
He said that data-driven economic growth required information systems to function as an integrated whole with interoperability between different organisations and information systems.
“The commercial and social values of data can be maximised when the databases in public and private sectors can be integrated, and the required data are able to be shared to create value,” he said, adding that this would require the provision of open interfaces by each system so that other systems can access the required shareable data accordingly.
“This approach would synergise the potential values of data in the digital economy ecosystem and facilitate, support, and accelerate the growth of the economy,” he said.
According to Abang Johari, examples of such an open interface was the state government’s digital wallet platform “Sarawak Pay” and also its single-sign-on platform which allows each user to register a unique digital identity, namely “Sarawak ID” for access to the platform which holds all available cumulative sets of online applications.
He said that the state government’s open data platform also exploited open interfaces which are Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for the public to access the sets of data made available by the government, thereby opening up opportunities for the public and private sectors and entrepreneurs to innovate and produce digital products and services for monetary purposes.
“I am hopeful that access to the government’s data will accelerate the growth of data-driven start-ups in Sarawak,” he said.
Touching on cybersecurity, he stressed that this was no longer a technological option but instead a societal need. “It is not only about data and information protection but includes critical infrastructure, transport system, societal aspects, and more.”
Citing the European Commission Cybersecurity Report, he said that cybercrime would cost the world US$6.6 trillion by December this year, due in part to the exploitation of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said that since cybersecurity risks could not be completely eliminated, they could instead be mitigated via cooperation and collaboration, education and knowledge, and timely communication on addressing threats.
“Moving forward, we need to utilise all the pillars namely ethics, education, industry and digital services, research, a common culture of collaboration (between public and private sectors, academia, and community), talent, and governance to be able to guarantee a secure digital society,” said Abang Johari.
