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PIKOM CHAIRMAN
PIKOM MUST REMAIN RELEVANT IN THESE TIMES, SAYS NEW CHAIRMAN Picking up the baton as Malaysia transitions into normalcy, new PIKOM Chairman Dr Sean Seah is brimming with plans for the association. But, before that, he says PIKOM must take stock of the new dynamics the digital industry finds itself in, and then seek to make itself relevant to all its members.
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he pandemic has changed many things. PIKOM Chairman Dr Sean Seah admits that what worked two years ago may not work today and, while PIKOM has been the voice of the Malaysian tech industry for 35 years, he is also brave enough to admit that the very phrase ‘the Malaysian tech Industry’ has to be relooked. “At this point in history, the industry is no longer ONE industry it is an enabler to a whole host of industries. We have startups, the gig economy, eGovernment, eHealth, eSports, and so on. Everyone in these sectors uses digital technology, and so we have to learn how PIKOM, as an umbrella body, can effectively represent every one of them,” says Dr Seah. “At the end of the day, these businesses, even the one-manshow gig worker must be able to say that they were well represented by PIKOM. Only then can we justify our slogan. Only then can PIKOM remain relevant in these times.”
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION In light of this, he says PIKOM needs to come up with strategies to reinvent itself. While the pandemic has curtailed industry growth by some years, it has also seen the development of a number of outstanding tech innovations. The tech industry must build on these innovations especially in the
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areas of artificial intelligence, robotics and space technology. This can create consumer confidence and help the country revive, he says. Another issue of the industry is the widening of the digital skills gap. In the last two years, PIKOM has collaborated with the Human Resources Development Fund (now HRDCorp) on the National Economic
Recovery Plan, better known as PENJANA, to bridge this gap. “We have conducted online training for more than 500 unemployed graduates, youths from the B40 group, SME owners and retrenched workers. We hope to train another 500 Malaysians in the coming months. We are looking at practical and hybrid trainings as well.”
