Business

Friday August 7, 2009

Devamany: K-economy vital to stay competitive


PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia has to quickly leap-frog into the knowledge-based economy (K-economy) to remain competitive as neighbouring countries are moving fast, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk S.K. Devamany.

Speaking at the seminar on Knowledge Content in Key Sectors in Malaysia Phase 2 (MYKE2) study yesterday, he said Malaysia had a window of about 10 years to develop into a K-economy but it required the collaboration of the public and private sectors, especially in sharing information and knowledge among various institutions such as universities, for the common good and progress of the nation.

“It can be done if we have the will and are prepared to change the way we work and share information with one another,” he said, noting that Malaysians were generally secretive in terms of knowledge and information.

The objective of the MYKE2 study was to assess the knowledge, content characteristics and constraints faced by key industries and the enhancement of policy making decisions in the development of a K-economy.

DEPUTY MINISTER IN THE PM’S DEPARTMENT DATUK S.K. DEVAMANY

The seminar was organised by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) and United Nations Development Programme, while the MYKE2 study was conducted in collaboration with Georgia Institute of Technology (based in Atlanta, United States) and the Statistics Department.

EPU director-general Datuk Noriyah Ahmad said the MYKE2 study highlighted innovations and the economic performance of various industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, services and construction, and their progress in terms of knowledge content.

“The study identified four knowledge enablers, which are human capabilities, leadership, info-structures and the knowledge environment. It also looked at knowledge generation, acquisition, sharing and utilisation of resources,” he said.

Key findings of the study include:

·Financial constraints and the lack of English-speaking workers are the most common limitations to further improvements in knowledge content, information and communications technology utilisation and worker skills;

·There are barriers to implementing softer knowledge practices in the economy; and

·The capacity to generate new knowledge continues to be low among Malaysian industries, especially in patent application, copyright application, and research and development engagement.

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