September 21, 2021

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Slew of measures in Malaysian Budget 2018 directed towards fourth industrial revolution and digital economy

Slew of measures in Malaysian Budget 2018 directed towards fourth industrial revolution and digital economy
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In the Malaysian
National Budget for the year 2018, the Government has announced a series of
measures to prepare the country for the fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0) and
driving the growth of the digital economy.

To support IR 4.0 businesses and
investment activities, the Government will provide a matching grant of RM245
million (USD 58 million) under the Domestic Investment Strategic Fund to
upgrade Smart Manufacturing Facilities.

The Futurise Centre in Cyberjaya
will be strengthened as a one-stop centre for corporations and universities to
develop product prototypes as well as to boost innovation.

Tax incentives will also be
provided. The incentive period for Accelerated Capital Allowance of 200% on
automation equipment is being extended from year of assessment 2018 to year of
assessment 2020. In addition, capital allowance for ICT equipment, which
includes spending on computer software development, is claimable for the period
of four years, beginning year of assessment 2018 to 2020, including for small
and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Encouraging venture capital investments

To encourage venture capital
activities, a sum of RM1 billion (USD236 million) will be provided by major
institutional investors for investments in main selected sectors, co-ordinated
by the Securities Commission (SC).

The minimum investment limit in
venture companies will be reduced from 70% to 50%, effective year of assessment
2018 to 2022. Companies or individuals investing in venture capital companies
will receive a tax deduction equivalent to the amount of their investments, limited
to a maximum of RM20 million per year. Moreover, income tax exemptions
equivalent to the amount of investments by angel investors in venture companies
are being extended until 31 December 2020.

Digital Free Trade Zone

Malaysia will
become the first country in the world outside China to establish a Digital Free
Trade Zone (DFTZ). The DFTZ comprises an
e-Fulfillment Hub (to help SMEs and businesses in exporting their goods easily),
a Satelite Services Hub (which will be the region’s digital hub for global and
local internet-based companies facilitating end-to-end support) and an
e-Services platform (for managing cargo clearance and other processes needed
for cross-border trade).

The first phase is
expected to generate RM700 million worth of investment and create 2,500 job
opportunities. The Government provided RM83.5 million to construct then required
infrastructure for the first phase in Aeropolis, KLIA (Kuala Lumpur
International Airport).

In a commentary on the budget, MDEC
CEO, Datuk Yasmin Mehmood wrote that DFTZ will “Go Live” on 3 November and
1,900 export-ready SMEs will begin their export journey with the launch,
compared to a previous target of 1,500 SMEs.

Education

For the education of the TN50 (Transformasi Nasional 2050)
generation, the Government is allocating RM250 million. 

Out of the this, 190
million will be directed to upgrade 2,000 classes into 21st century
Smart Classrooms, in order to enhance creative-based learning and innovative
thinking. Skills
such as
coding, app development, robotics, embedded programming and creative technology
would be imparted.

Computer science modules in primary
and secondary schools, including coding programmes, will be enhanced.

The sum also includes funding for
setting up a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Centre to
develop the latest learning methods for training STEM specialist teachers, utilising
existing facilities at teachers training institute in collaboration with
Academy of Science, Malaysia.

Job creation and income generation

The Government has allocated RM 100
million to expand the eRezeki,
eUshawan and a new flagship initiative
called eLadang, under the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).

eUsahawan is a digital entrepreneurship program aiming to
help the public enhance business growth via online sales. The eRezeki
initiative, based on the concept of crowd-sourcing aims to connect low-income
households to digital income opportunities. Participants are trained, qualified
and matched against suitable available tasks and/or work, helping them earn
additional income and acquire new skills, equipping them to cope with an
increasingly digital world.

Datuk Yasmin Mahmood wrote in her commentary that around 150,000 people would be trained
in 2018 under these two programmes, resulting in 341,745 people participating
in both programmes with an estimated total income and revenue of RM544 million.

eLadang aims to encourage farmers to leverage the latest
smart farming technologies such as IoT (Internet-of-Things) and BDA (Big Data
Analytics) to improve yield and income.

Featured image: Jorge
Láscar/ CC BY 2.0

Mobile Money in Vietnam Paves the Way for New Sandbox Initiatives

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The trial Mobile Money service approved by the Prime Minister will set a precedent for applying a “sandbox” scheme for new services and professions in the digital society. Sandbox is a controlled institutional framework applied to new technologies, products, services, and business models. It is an environment for technology firms to try their new technological apps and business models. After the trial period, management agencies will review the trial implementation and then accept or reject it.

Using laws to set rules to deal with new issues arising from the application of new technologies is a challenge. As per a press release, the apps may have a rapid impact on society that management systems may not be able to keep up with. Many traditional business fields have changed, and businesses have to utilise technology to work more effectively. It is impossible to manage new services and business models within the existing framework because policies tend to lag behind practices. Therefore, a sandbox model is more advantageous.

According to an industry expert, it is impossible to demand state management agencies to create policies for the future. Many countries apply sandbox policies to encourage enterprises to develop new business models, with certain limitations in deployment. The Prime Minister has put into effect the pilot implementation of Mobile Money services – making payments for small-value goods and services with telecom accounts. The pilot programme will last two years.

This is the first service that the government has applied the sandbox mechanism managed by several ministries and branches. The government hopes the service will contribute to the development of non-cash payments, and promote the access and use of financial services, especially in rural areas. Businesses can only provide Mobile Money to remit money and make payments for legal goods and services in Vietnam in accordance with current laws. Mobile Money is only applied to domestic transactions with a monthly transaction value limit of VND10 million (US$4,397).

Vietnam is not the first country that has accepted a new technology platform, but experts said that it has an advantage by learning lessons from predecessors. In Vietnam, the proportion of credit card users is still low, but mobile subscriber density is very high. 99% of transactions with a small value of below VND100,000 (US$4) are carried out in cash. Mobile Money will be a strong solution to promote non-cash payments in society.

The Minister of Information and Communications stated that Mobile Money is a convincing example that shows that telecom carriers can become platforms for many things, not only telecom infrastructure. They can become platforms for data, computing, digital content, authentication, IT services, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Mobile Money is expected to help Vietnam become a digital society. The project is the first sandbox involving many ministries and sectors to be piloted to meet the needs of society. It will pave the way for more sandboxes to be applied to other new services and business models in the future. He added that Mobile Money is a great opportunity for mobile network operators to build an ecosystem to accelerate digital transformation.

The Philippines to Accelerate National ID Program

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The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said it is accelerating the implementation of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) or the national ID programme to enhance the government’s ability to deliver various social services. NEDA chair said that more than 42 million Filipinos had registered as of September for step 1 or collection of demographic data. Notwithstanding the quarantines, he said nearly 30 million took the second step to supply their biometrics in the registration centres.

OpenGov Asia reported that the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) expects the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to register 50 to 70 million people for the national digital ID by the end of the year. It is noted that as of July 2, 37.2 million people had completed Step 1, which involves the collection of demographic information, and 16.2 million had completed Step 2, which involves the capture of biometrics at designated registration centres.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is challenging, but the Philippines has a solid foundation to recover at the right time. Reforms such as Rice Tariffication Law and the National ID are helping us restore our development trajectory and enabling the people, especially the poor, to access affordable food and better social services. 

– NEDA Chairperson

Speaking on the progress being made by the digital ID project, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary at NEDA said: “The COVID-19 crisis underscores the need to provide unhampered access to banking and social services for all Filipinos, especially the poor. Therefore, the President gave the directive to accelerate the implementation of the Philippine Identification System or PhilSys to provide all Filipinos with a unique and digitalised ID.”

He underlined that the Filipinos, particularly the poor, would be able to open bank accounts where cash transfers can be received directly. “We aim to register at least 50 million Filipinos by the end of this year,” he said.

The pandemic gave new promptness and highlighted the primacy of financial integration into government crisis containment and rehabilitation efforts. It showed the vital role of financial inclusion in social welfare and protection, as the transaction accounts became a necessary means to receive government cash support from the poorest and most vulnerable in the country.

As per NEDA’s Chairperson, PhilSys would also facilitate financial inclusion by providing every Filipino with a valid proof of identity, which is required for low-income earners to open bank accounts, receive cash transfers, and access other financial services.

Meanwhile, the Philippines’ state-run bank said it has signed up 5.3 million unbanked PhilSys registrants for their own transaction accounts via account opening booths at select PhilSys co-location areas nationwide. The registrants have already used their prepaid cards for a total of P31.8 million in transactions.

The PhilSys registrants can use the Landbank prepaid cards to manage funds, withdraw cash, perform cashless transactions, shop and pay bills online, and receive government subsidies digitally. As per the president and CEO of the Philippines bank, bringing unbanked Filipinos into the financial mainstream lays the groundwork for inclusive growth, particularly as we accelerate initiatives toward economic recovery and sustained development. Access to formal banking services motivates people to save money, repay loans, invest in financial products, and achieve financial independence.

Unbanked PhilSys registrants may access bank transaction accounts after completing the PhilSys Step 2 registration process, which includes validating supporting documents and capturing biometrics data. PhilSys registrants can also activate their bank prepaid cards and conduct transactions through the bank’s mobile branches, which are located in communities across the country where banking services are disrupted or limited.

The bank’s mobile branch is intended to serve unbanked and underserved communities as well as areas affected by disasters, calamities, and other disruptive events, as part of the bank’s increased efforts to promote greater financial inclusion in the community.

AI Predicts Film Genre Based on Soundtrack

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A film is not complete without relevant and good music in the background. Music establishes atmosphere and mood and influences the audience’s emotional reactions as well as their interpretation of the story. A research team at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering sought to objectively examine the effect of music on cinematic genres. Their study aimed to determine if AI-based technology could predict the genre of a film based on the soundtrack alone.

While past work qualitatively indicates that different film genres have their own sets of musical conventions—conventions that make that romance film sound different from that horror movie—Narayanan and team set out to find quantitative evidence that elements of a film’s soundtrack could be used to characterise the film’s genre.

The study was the first to apply deep learning models to the music used in a film to see if a computer could predict the genre of a film based on the soundtrack alone. They found that these models were able to accurately classify a film’s genre using machine learning, supporting the notion that musical features can be powerful indicators in how people perceive different films.

This work could have valuable applications for media companies and creators in understanding how music can enhance other forms of media. It could give production companies and music supervisors a better understanding of how to create and place music in television, movies, advertisements, and documentaries in order to elicit certain emotions in viewers.

In their study, the team examined a dataset of 110 popular films released between 2014 and 2019. They used genre classification listed on the online database of information related to films to label each film as action, comedy, drama, horror, romance, or science-fiction, with many of the films spanning more than one of these genres.

They then applied a deep learning network that extracted the auditory information, like timbre, harmony, melody, rhythm, and tone from the music and score of each film. This network used machine learning to analyse these musical features and proved capable of accurately classifying the genre of each film based on these features alone.

The team also interpreted these models to determine which musical features were most indicative of differences between genres. The models didn’t give specifics as to which types of notes or instruments were associated with each genre, but they were able to establish that tonal and timbral features were most important in predicting the film’s genre.

The researchers examined the auditory information from each film using a technology known as audio fingerprinting. This technology allowed them to look at where the musical cues happen in a film and for how long. Using audio fingerprinting to listen to all of the audio from the film allowed them to overcome a limitation of previous film music studies, which usually just looked at the film’s entire soundtrack album without knowing if or when songs from the album appear in the film.

In the future, the team is interested in taking advantage of this capability to study how music is used in specific moments in a film and how musical cues dictate how the narrative of the film evolves over its course.

AI has been adopted in various areas, including healthcare. As reported by OpenGov Asia, U.S. Scientists have developed a new, automated, AI-based algorithm that can learn to read patient data from Electronic Health Records (EHR). The scientists, in a side-by-side comparison, showed that their method accurately identified patients with certain diseases as well as the traditional, “gold-standard” method, which requires much more manual labour to develop and perform.

Indian Scientists Develop Data-Processing Technique to Accurately Measure Soot

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Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay (IIT-Bombay) have developed a new data-processing technique to measure low amounts of soot accurately. This will help designers build better combustion-based devices such as internal combustion engines in cars.

Soot is tiny black particles that rise from a flame. Soot is formed when the fuel does not burn entirely. When fuel burns properly, a blue flame is emitted, whereas the flame is yellow when the soot is formed during burning and it becomes hot. Soot can cause cancer and respiratory and cardiac disorders and can also reduce the life of machine parts, a news report has explained.

Accurately measuring small amounts of soot can be a challenge and has spawned several research projects. The team from IIT-Bombay demonstrated a new technique to effectively reduce measurement errors when soot is present in low amounts. They analysed digital camera pictures of burning fuel to guess the temperature of the fuel and use the information to estimate the soot volume. The amount of soot can be measured using methods such as collecting and weighing the soot and studying a light beam shone on soot particles. The current study uses the last method. The researchers passed a beam of red laser light of a specific frequency, through a droplet of burning fuel and took images as it burnt. The light falling on the camera also contains the light from the burning fuel. The researchers used a narrow band filter to let only the laser light pass and filter out the light emitted by the burning fuel.

The report noted that when a flame having soot particles is shone with light, called background light, the particles absorb and scatter some of this light, so light reaching the camera is less bright. The researchers used the relation between the initial brightness of the laser light, the brightness of the light falling on the camera, and the soot volume to calculate the amount of soot. They then used a data-processing technique to compute the values of brightness from their images. Their challenge was to estimate the initial brightness of background light falling on soot particles since this isn’t directly captured in the images.

The team predicted the brightness of background light at every moment instead of using an average. They observed the flickers in background light at areas present outside the flame of the burning fuel, where there is no soot. They used it to estimate the background light falling on the soot particles. Using the new data processing technique, the team got lower errors, especially when the amount of soot produced is low. The technique does not require any additional equipment or extra expenditure, an added advantage.

The report added that to further reduce errors in the experiment, the researchers passed the laser light beam through a fixed and a rotating diffuser — a glass sheet that scatters light — before the light was incident on the burning fuel. A diffuser gives an evenly bright light and avoids the many speckles in the camera image. Speckles need to be removed while processing the data, leading to a loss of information. The researchers also validated their data processing technique. They used it to calculate the amount of soot for some previous measurements reported in the literature and verified the results. They also qualitatively checked their experimental observations.

They burnt a droplet of toluene (a carbon-based fuel) and compared their experimental observations with that in the literature. The team observed a similar peak value of the amount of soot. As expected, they saw high amounts of soot slightly inside the outer edges of the flame, where temperatures and fuel concentration are high, a researcher explained. The quantification of soot is crucial from an environmental perspective. This is an effective method to quantify soot to help identify strategies to mitigate combustion-based practices in India.

Singapore Computer Model to Reduce COVID-19 Infections

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A team of scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has developed a predictive computer model. When tested on real pandemic data would have reduced the rate of both COVID19 infections and deaths by an average of 72% based on a sample from four countries.

The model, called NSGA-II, could be used to alert local governments in advance on possible surges in COVID-19 infections and mortalities, allowing them time to put forward relevant countermeasures more rapidly.

The main goal of our study is to aid health authorities to make data-driven decisions in fighting the global COVID-19 pandemic. The critical knowledge discovered in historical data enables us to provide early warning, preparation, and prevention for crisis control and enhance the resilience of human societies.

– Assistant Professor NTU’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and lead researcher

Through the testing of the model in four Asian countries using data available, the team demonstrated that it could have helped reduce the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths by up to 76% in Japan, 65% in South Korea, 59% per cent in Pakistan and 89 per cent in Nepal.

The computer model achieved the result by recommending timely and country-specific advice on the optimal application and duration of COVID-19 interventions, such as home quarantines, social distancing measures, and personal protective measures that would help to thwart the negative impact of the pandemic.

The team also showed NSGA-II could make predictions on the daily increases of COVID-19 confirmed cases and deaths that were highly accurate, at a confidence level of 95%, compared to the actual cases that took place in the four countries over the past year.

Harnessing the power of machine learning, the research team developed the model by inputting large amounts of data on COVID-19 mortalities and infections worldwide that is available for the whole of 2020, helping it learn the dynamics of the pandemic.

As the pandemic progresses and the COVID-19 virus undergoes many mutations, it threatens the resilience of global society across every aspect of daily life, the environment, and the economy, and it requires the prompt and prioritised attention of policymakers worldwide.

The developed computer programme could serve as a useful tool to help governments formulate strategies and interventions at an early stage to limit or even counter a predicted surge in cases, reducing infections and mortality rates.

The team plans to introduce more variables, such as economic status and cultural differences, into the model to further improve its accuracy. They are seeking to validate its efficacy by including data from additional countries in Europe and North America, providing insights into COVID-19 evolution across different geographies.

As reported by OpenGov Asia, Singapore’s healthcare community have learned various things from the Covid-19 experience that can guide the way they deliver care in the future. Accurate information is essential as the basis for informed decisions. Moreover, people can take more control of their healthcare destinies when they are empowered by information and technology.

As Singapore and much of the world is turning the corner on the pandemic, it is driving the adoption of transformative technologies in healthcare. In the last year, it was the intense and unrelenting pressures of the pandemic that ultimately proved to be the most potent agent of change for digital transformation in healthcare.

The necessary elements of this transformation—the required infrastructure—are rapidly coming to maturity. It starts with the increasing availability of health data from connected devices. It is unleashed by the increasing sophistication of technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), hybrid cloud and automation.

Digital Transformation Vital to Vietnam’s Agricultural Development

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To achieve its targets to become a modernity-oriented industrialised nation by 2030 and a developed country with high income by 2045, Vietnam must succeed in the digital transformation process, in which agriculture is one of the priority areas, the Minister of Foreign Affairs stated at the Vietnam Agricultural Digital Transformation International Forum 2021.

The event was co-organised via videoconference by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Vietnam Digital Agriculture Association (VIDA), and an e-newspaper outlet under the theme “Keeping up with market trends, ensuring the pivotal role of the economy during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.” The forum was an activity within the framework of the Vietnam International Agricultural Exhibition 2021 (AgriTech Expo 2021).

According to a news report, the forum consisted of two discussions that focussed on policy orientations and the theme “Shaping Vietnam’s digital agriculture until 2035” with the presentation of 20 speakers representing local authorities and leaders of businesses and corporations. Participants at the event shared scenarios of Vietnam’s agricultural digital transformation; key issues in Vietnam’s agricultural development strategies towards digitalisation given the complicated effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruption, and climate change.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs noted that the Vietnamese government should proactively and actively participate in the fourth industrial revolution and speed up the digital transformation process. The country must consider it a vital solution and an opportunity to make a breakthrough in socio-economic development.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development pledged to offer all resources and the most favourable policies for businesses, aiming to bring added value to Vietnamese agricultural products and improve their trademarks. The Ministry will strongly support the digital transformation process and replace agricultural technology models as the Vietnamese agricultural sector is not only the “backbone” of the economy in difficult times but also a measurement of sustainability, the Minister said.

Representatives of foreign diplomatic agencies in Vietnam and from research institutes and socio-economic organisations attended the event. Also, domestic and foreign experts in the field of agricultural digital transformation from Japan, the Netherlands, Israel, and the World Bank as well as those from business associations and enterprises.

In August, the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) unveiled a plan to put farming households on e-commerce sites. Farming households will be supported to enter e-commerce sites to connect, advertise, and introduce their products. This will help them access new distribution channels and expand to domestic and international markets. Vietnam has nine million agricultural production households and four million private business households. All the households will be brought onto e-commerce sites, and this will be the first breakthrough to be made in developing the digital agricultural economy.

As OpenGov Asia reported, through e-commerce sites and digital platforms, farming households will receive useful information about farm produce markets, predicted demand and production capacity, weather forecasts, and seed and fertilizer supply. High-quality input materials and tools for agriculture production will be introduced to farmers via the platforms. Overall, MIC will put 12-13 million agricultural production and private business households on e-commerce sites. The targeted figure is five million households by the end of the year.

Green Energy Solutions for the Future Industry of Indonesia

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The President of Indonesia had unveiled a three-pronged strategy to boost Indonesia’s economic growth, providing insight into the direction of government policy for the remainder of his term. The green economy, the digitalisation of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), and the development of downstream industries are the three key aspects. Regarding the first of those three, he mentioned that the government intends to construct a “green industrial park” by October 2021 to produce “green products” using only renewable energy.

We know that the future of green products looks promising, and we have a great opportunity in this.

– President of Indonesia

The government also wants all 60 million MSMEs to be able to sell their goods and services on e-commerce and other digital platforms. Elaborating on the third key point, the President stated that the government began downstream industrial development in early 2020 with a ban on one of an ore export, which increased steel exports to US$10.5 billion. The scheme would be expanded to include additional goods and services such as bauxite, gold, copper, and palm oil.

The President’s speech represents the next step in a long-term shift in economic policymaking for a government that has previously appeared to be focused on short-term gains from extractive industries with little regard for environmental consequences. As per the Finance Ministry, the main sources of revenue from export levies and non-tax income are coal, crude palm oil (CPO), and raw mineral exports.

OpenGov Asia in an article reported that in recent years, the Indonesian government has taken concrete policy steps to advance its digital transformation agenda, and while steady progress has been made in that direction, the good news is that the pace of change is expected to accelerate. To address this, Indonesia’s President has pledged to press ahead with economic reform plans, despite the heavy burden that COVID-19 has imposed on the country since the outbreak began.

In his speech, the President stated that in today’s disruptive world, the spirit to change, the spirit to make changes, and the spirit to innovate has become the foundation for building an advanced Indonesia. In this context, the president’s agenda remained focused on structural reforms designed “to promote inclusive and sustainable economic development.” Repeating the promises made at the beginning of his second term, he added that the development of “quality human capital” and infrastructure development will remain priorities, the latter a hallmark of his seven years in power.

The Indonesian leader also expressed hope that reform would help the country begin the transition to a more sustainable economy. “A significant change in our economy will be the transition to new and renewable energy, as well as the acceleration of an economy based on green technology. The President believes that using clean energy and green technology will contribute to the development of a more environmentally friendly economy. As a result, efforts will be made to strengthen national research to align with the country’s development agenda.

Meanwhile, according to the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, renewable energy sources accounted for 11.2% of the national energy mix in 2020, with the remainder coming from fossil fuels. As per the executive director of the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), the idea of environmental economics should be accompanied by responsibilities to reduce emissions, waste, and natural resource extraction.

“The term ‘green’ must not just be a slogan; there is a lot to do to [justify] such a claim,” IESR executive director told. The concept, he said, should be incorporated into a clear transition for all industries in Indonesia, reducing reliance on natural resources and extractive industry exports. He went on to say that one industrial park is insufficient to [declare] a green economy. As a result, the entire industry must follow suit.

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