Miri entrepreneurs, contractors urged to take advantage of AI to increase income

MIRI (July 11): Local entrepreneurs and contractors are urged to embrace artificial intelligence (AI) technology and take advantage of its progress to increase their income.

The Board of Directors of the Malaysian Cooperative Institute (IKMa) chairman and Batu Pahat MP Onn Abu Bakar said that many companies have adopted the technology and made large investments in it due to its importance.

“AI has flourished, and many overseas companies that have made relatively high investments in it have entered Malaysia.

“Therefore, I would like to ask all entrepreneurs, contractors and others to take this opportunity because this is a chance for them to work with AI in increasing their income,” he said.

He said this when officiating at a talk on ‘Artificial Intelligence (AI): Empowering Cooperative Business’ here today.

The programme was expected to spark innovation and creativity, as well as inspire all participants to explore ways of applying AI in their respective fields.

The programme gathered about 170 participants, comprising cooperative leaders, cooperative members and entrepreneurs from Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam.

Onn said the involvement of cooperatives from neighbouring countries reflects a shared commitment to advancing the cooperative movement in the Asean region.

“The start of the cooperative movement in Malaysia in 1922 has made a significant contribution to the national economy.

“As of December 2023, there were 15,809 registered cooperatives in Malaysia with memberships of over 7.2 million and total share of RM17,448.65 million.

“This shows the large scale of this movement at the national level and the widespread involvement of Malaysians in the sector.

Also present at the function were IKMa director-general Datuk Mohd Ali Mansor, IKMa Board of Directors member and Malaysian Cooperative Entrepreneurship University (UKKM) chairman Datuk Wira Dr Rosli Mat Hassan, Malaysian Cooperative Commission Miri Division senior assistant director Lily Fawziah Adnan, and Angkasa Miri Communications Committee member Ibrahim Mohamad.