Sarawak awarded prestigious Asocio 2023 award for digital economy efforts 

KUCHING (Nov 15): The Sarawak government was yesterday conferred the prestigious Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organisation (Asocio) 2023 Digital Government Award at a ceremony in Seoul, South Korea.

The award is testament to the government’s leadership and relentless effort in promoting digital economy, said the Ministry of Utility and Telecommunication in a statement.

“The award recognised Sarawak Development Economic Corporation’s (SDEC) role in deployment of digital infrastructures and technology such as telecommunication infrastructure, innovation hubs for startup development, centre of excellence, and translational research grants, among others,” it said.

Accepting the award on behalf of the Sarawak government was Minister of Utility and Telecommunication Dato Sri Julaihi Narawi.

Also part of the Sarawak government’s delegation are Julaihi’s deputy minister Datuk Liwan Lagang, SDEC chairman Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Morshidi Abdul Ghani, its chief executive Sudarnoto Osman and its chief operating officer Malseni Jamal.

“It is a great distinction for the Sarawak government to be recognised by an organisation that the ICT industry holds in high esteem, and to be an example to the economies in the Asia-Oceania region.

“The award enables the Sarawak government to bring greater digital transformation to its people as it will inspire greater confidence in the global business community as well as attract skilled technology talent,” said Julaihi in his speech when accepting the award.

Adding on, he said this would facilitate future growth and expansion in line with the aim to transform Sarawak into a digital economy powerhouse as envisioned by Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg when he launched the Sarawak Digital Economy Strategy 2018-2022.

“Last month, the Sarawak Premier launched the Sarawak Digital Economy Blueprint 2030, a comprehensive plan curated based on the existing Sarawak Digital Economy Strategy 2018-2022.

“Under the Premier’s leadership, the blueprint will set the direction for Sarawak to achieve the leading digital economy and society status by 2030.”

“It will position Sarawak to be a high-income developed region, transforming from conventional resource-based economy to an environmentally sustainable technology-based economy,” Julaihi said.

The key criteria of the Asocio Digital Government Award are the ability of the government to implement digital strategies and solutions to significantly improve the service quality to citizens; apply technology to providing ethical and transparent government services; deploy digital services to significantly empower the education, social welfare, and public health of citizens; and deploy well-recognised applications in key smart city areas.

Established in 1984, Asocio is a trade organisation representing more than 10,000 ICT companies from 24 member countries from Asia Pacific.

The objectives are to promote, encourage and foster relationships and trade among its members, and to develop the computing industry in the region.