BY NATASHA JEE & ALEXANDRA LORNA
KUCHING: Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg wants to transform the Sarawak ID to make it similar to Singapore’s SingPass by 2025.
The new Sarawak ID, he said, would be further enhanced to become the single trusted digital identity used by Sarawakians to access a wide array of services, including financial services, private services and public services such as the Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) system.
“Meaning, it is just cashless. You just have one card, and you will get all the services that you need.
“I also want to transform the way financial assistance is distributed to the public and this will be through digital transactions,” he said.
Abang Johari said this when addressing the Majlis Amanat Perdana 2024 for Sarawak Civil Service at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) yesterday (Jan 12).
He added that when he was in Singapore recently, he had a conversation with Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister, Lawrence Wong on the provision of targeted assistance to Singaporeans through vouchers and channelling them through digital transactions.
“This means that they give 600 Singapore dollars to the targeted group and the merchants are registered with a Singaporean bank. When the group buy essential commodities, rice sugar and so on, the costs are deducted from the vouchers
“Meaning, there is little abuse, because it (voucher) is given directly to the recipient. So, hopefully by 2025, we will do the same thing in Sarawak,” he said.
Abang Johari added the Sarawak ID would also be enhanced to incorporate facial recognition to accelerate and simplify access to these services.
In 2018, Sarawak started the Sarawak ID initiative. This Single Sign-On service provides convenience and has reduced the hassle of remembering multiple passwords for different accounts of Sarawak government online services.
On the digital front, the Premier said the digital economy was estimated to contribute, on average, 24.3 per cent to the world economy in 2025.
“Taking the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimates of USD104 trillion, this will mean an approximate contribution of USD25 trillion from the digital economy alone.
“If Sarawak is able to tap just 0.1 per cent of the global digital economy GDP, this is equivalent to almost USD25 billion or RM113 billion contribution to Sarawak’s GDP,” he said.
To fully take advantage of this opportunity, Abang Johari reiterated the importance of embracing digital technologies, particularly generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) to drive the economy towards accelerated sustainable development.
“I would like to see an AI chatbot implemented to provide a responsive virtual assistant for high-impact services,” he said, while calling all to work in tandem with global digital technological advancements to foster a conducive environment for economic development and innovation.
“As such, the Sarawak government is actively prioritising the enhancement of our digital preparedness.
“This includes bolstering digital infrastructure, improving connectivity to achieve 99.9 per cent internet coverage by 2030, fostering digital and data analytics talent, incorporating cloud computing, strengthening our cybersecurity, and effectively managing and monetising our data,” he said.
Abang Johari added, “To improve the Digital Economy includes enacting the Electronic Sarawak Government Activities Ordinance 2022, making online service delivery legally recognised and enacting the Data Sharing Policy and Sarawak Government Activities Ordinance 2022, enabling digitalisation of government service delivery, facilitating digital transformation in Sarawak.
“Under the Sarawak Digital Economy Blueprint 2030, the Sarawak government also aims to accelerate the transformation of the public sector and services by focusing on increasing the ease of doing business and achieving 100 per cent end-to-end online services.
“Also, to foster a more accessible, efficient and transparent government that meets the evolving needs in the digital age, we shall adopt a whole-of-government approach enabling interagency processes and data to be connected and shared for enhanced planning and decision-making,” said Abang Johari.
