DIGITAL JOHOR AGENDA WILL BOOST RAKYAT'S CAPABILITIES, ADAPTABILITY - IRDA 

JOHOR BAHRU, Nov 29 -- Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) believes the robust initiatives in talent development and digitalisation agenda outlined in Johor’s Budget 2021 are the right moves to sustain the state’s economic recovery and rakyat’s livelihood.

Chief executive Datuk Ismail Ibrahim said the COVID-19 impacts and challenges require solutions that would not only regrow the economy and provide for the people immediately but would continue to sustain in the future. 

He said talent development initiatives such as reskilling, upskilling, certification and grants are opportunities for Johoreans to take advantage of, to improve and become more resilient in order to sustain their livelihood and maintain their standard of living.

“Adding value to this would be the initiatives under the Digital Johor Agenda that will further boost the capabilities and adaptability of the rakyat to fit into the new digital-based local and global market arena. 

“Consequently, having a sufficient suitable talent pool that is supported by efficient digital infrastructure and platforms will help to regrow and sustain Johor’s economy now and well into the future,” he said in a statement here, in regard to the state’s proposed 2021 budget tabled on Thursday.

Almost RM20 million, he noted, would be spent in the state for job related talent development with initiatives such as ‘Program Kemahiran Latihan Johor’, ‘Program Peningkatan Kemahiran serta Latihan Semula dan Keusahawanan’, ‘Gerak Kerjaya Johor, Pogram Perantis Iskandar Malaysia’, and ‘Geran Padanan Gaji’. 

IRDA is specifically involved in the last two programmes.

Ismail said Johor’s second economic recovery strategy is utilising the Digital Johor Agenda as an important element in preparing and driving the economy of the future. 

“The main highlight in this agenda is the expansion of connectivity for wider 4G coverage and preparation to move towards 5G and the Johor WiFi 2.0 coverage to ensure Johor’s wide internet coverage includes a wider reach into the rural areas,” he said,

Other key initiatives in the state 2021 budget are the introduction of the Johor E-Marketplace, an increase in cashless transaction capabilities, encouraging usage of online education platform, digital transformation of entrepreneurs and government systems.

“With Iskandar Malaysia being a Smart City leader in the region, we fully agree and support the Digital Johor Agenda by the Johor government. 

“There are many benefits of using digital platforms including allowing us to reach further and to a wider population and market as well as making our process faster and easier. All these will help to strengthen the Rakyat and they, in turn, will support the Johor economy,” Ismail said.

-- BERNAMA