conducive platform to nurture Malaysian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the ICT sector, to become world-class businesses whilst attracting participation from global ICT companies to invest in and develop cutting edge digital and creative solutions in Malaysia. Seventeen years on, MSC Malaysia has driven the development of the Malaysian ICT industry, enhanced technology adoption, and has made significant strides in increasing the economic impact and footprint of ICT for the nation.

There are powerful economic and fiscal incentives for companies, both local and international, to apply for MSC status. Just as importantly, Malaysia has passed a number of effective new laws, which protect intellectual property and ensure freedom of thought and expression.

This remarkable initiative has positioned Malaysia as a preferred ICT investment hub. Today, there are over 3,000 MSC Malaysia Status companies, employing over 140,000 people, these include: 373 companies in the Creative Multimedia Cluster, 115 Institutions of Higher Learning and Incubators, 2,392 Information Technology companies and over 280 Shared Services & Outsourcing providers.

In 2012, MSC Malaysia revenue came in at RM 33.53 billion which was an increase of 5.7% from 2011, while exports grew to RM 11.6 billion which reflected a 14% rise from the previous year. This resulted in MSC Malaysia’s contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) standing at 11.3 billion, recording a significant double digit growth of 18% from 2011.

In October 2010, MDeC was given an additional task by the government, which was to develop a blueprint for a Digital Economy that draws from the huge opportunities created by the Digital world.

This resulted in a programme called Digital Malaysia that was officially unveiled to the public in May 2012.

Digital Malaysia is a natural progression to harness the building blocks already laid by MSC Malaysia. Founded on three strategic thrusts, of moving Malaysia from supply to demand, consumption to production and low knowledge-add to high knowledge-add, it ultimately aims to create an ecosystem that promotes the pervasive use of ICT in all aspects of the economy and the first eight projects are already under implementation.

This will in turn connect communities globally and enable them to interact in real time, increase the country’s Gross National Income, enhance business productivity and improve the standards of living.. Ultimately, Digital Malaysia aims to turn Malaysia into a developed digital economy by 2020, that connects and empowers the government, businesses and citizens. Today, both MSC Malaysia and Digital Malaysia run concurrently to spur Malaysia’s ICT industry development and digital economic growth, under the purview of MDeC.