KUCHING: The state’seconomy will grow post Covid-19, especially with the implementation of technology, said Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) board member Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Morshidi Abdul Ghani.
He said that like any economic recession, a downward trend might have to be endured before the economy picked up.
“The possibility of economic growth post Covid-19 is just like a curve, it will grow sharply,” he said during a webinar session titled ‘Post Covid-19: Moving Towards Digital Economy – Are We Ready?’ hosted by the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC) on Friday.
Morshidi, who is a former State Secretary, expressed his belief that human beings were fighters and would always seek solutions as to how they could improve their businesses, livelihoods, and so on.
“Even more so now that there is technology available,” he said.
He pointed out that digital technology had brought about online services, online shopping, video conferencing, increased efficiency in healthcare such as the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for health analyses, among others.
“Digital economy is about efficiency, speed, and saving cost,” he said.
Morshidi acknowledged that some sections of the population might be wary of online technology and its security, and therefore find it difficult to embrace.
“As the saying goes; ‘The proof of the pudding is in the eating’. Before this Covid-19 pandemic, perhaps only a certain percentage of the population used digital technology, but now more have adopted this change and the numbers have increased,” he said.
For example, he said many had to adapt to using GrabFood to order meals.
“In a way, the pandemic has forced people to use online technology and they have found it to be very convenient and efficient,” he said.
In terms of cybersecurity, he said that it was about how one developed a policy in ensuring that security and protocols were well in place.
The webinar session was moderated by MPC director-general Datuk Abdul Latif Abu Seman.
