The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and its applied research agency, MIMOS, launched the National Internet of Things (IoT) Strategic Roadmap, a document that would serve as a guideline for IoT implementation in Malaysia.
IoT implementation in Malaysia is expected to contribute 9.5 billion ringgit ($2.49 billion) to the country’s gross national income (GNI) by the year 2020 and 42.5 billion ringgit by 2025, according to Minister Datuk Dr Ewon Ebin.
It is also projected to generate a total of 14,270 high-skilled employment opportunities by 2020.
“IoT implementation goes across key social and economic sectors. This means that the development and implementation of IoT require a clear guideline and strategy that takes into account various critical aspects such as data security and sovereignty, privacy, Intellectual Property management etc,” the Minister said at the launch of the roadmap in Cyberjaya.
Dr. Ewon cited the country’s creative and high-potential talent groups, good investment climate, as well as strong interest and commitment as key drivers in the country’s push to become a regional IoT hub.
MIMOS and Cyberview Sdn Bhd, CyberSecurity Malaysia and SAS Inc. also signed agreements, respectively, on developing Cyberjaya as a model ‘Smart and Safe City’ through IoT implementation.
Under the plan, Cyberjaya will implement various IoT-based solutions such as smart traffic management system and public safety monitoring, energy management, among many others, which can be enhanced and rolled out at a larger scale in due time.
“In a Smart City, the various cyber security threats will bring us an entirely new set of concerns. Cyber attackers can potentially hijack sensitive information recorded by the devices, mobile apps and cloud services; and can even pose physical safety risks for consumers,” said Dr. Amirudin Abdul Wahab, chief executive officer of CyberSecurity Malaysia.
“The cooperation is also to establish security requirements and guidelines on products based on technologies developed using Open Innovation Framework,” he added.
SAS Malaysia’s head of sales operations, Sheikh Manzoor Ghani said the company will work with MIMOS to develop applications and services in the areas of smart energy management, smart policing and government service efficiency.