Cashless Society Initiative Boosts Sarawak’s Local Community Economy

KUCHING, Sept 28 (Bernama) -- The Sarawak Cashless Society initiative is set to provide strong momentum to the agenda of empowering the local community economy, particularly helping retail traders strengthen their presence in the rapidly growing digital economy.

Batang Sadong Member of Parliament Rodiyah Sapiee said that Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg had frequently highlighted digital transformation as a central pillar in the Post-COVID Development Strategy 2030 (PCDS 2030), which aims to make Sarawak a developed state by 2030.

She said that one of the important thrusts of the strategy was to empower the digital economy to produce more competitive entrepreneurs and create new job opportunities for the younger generation.

“The cashless payment initiative is part of Sarawak’s digital economy ecosystem. It modernises the way business is conducted, creates a more efficient and safer lifestyle, and ensures that rural communities are not left behind in the development process,” she said.

She said this in her speech at the launch of the Sarawak Cashless Carnival in Kampung Gedong here today. Also present was Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Sarawak director Adiman Ajem.

Rodiyah said that cashless payments had greatly benefited small traders, who had previously faced the risk of losing cash and found it hard to tally balances, while transactions could now be deposited directly into bank accounts more securely, conveniently, and swiftly.

In addition, she said that many traders around the Gedong National Information Dissemination Centre (NADI) had adopted cashless operations, marking a proud milestone in the state’s digital transformation journey.

Rodiyah also urged traders in Gedong to take the opportunity to register with strategic partners such as S Pay Global, Bank Negara, Maybank, Bank Islam, TM UNIFI, BSN, AKPK, Aeon Bank, and toyyibPay.

“With close cooperation between the government, MCMC, strategic partners, NADI managers, entrepreneurs, and village communities, I am confident that Gedong can serve as an example of a rural community successfully adopting modern technology,” she said.

--BERNAMA