#NetworkedNation NAVIGATING CHALLENGES, REALISING OPPORTUNITIES OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION #NetworkedNation NAVIGATING CHALLENGES, REALISING OPPORTUNITIES OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION ©2021 Khazanah Research Institute June 2021 #NetworkedNation: Navigating Challenges, Realising Opportunities of Digital Transformation – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Khazanah Research Institute This work is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (CC BY3.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. Under the Creative Commons Attribution license, you are free to copy, distribute, transmit, and adapt this work, including for commercial purposes, under the following attributions: Attribution – Please cite the work as follows: Khazanah Research Institute. 2021. #NetworkedNation: Navigating Challenges, Realising Opportunities of Digital Transformation. Kuala Lumpur: Khazanah Research Institute. License: Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0. Translations – If you create a translation of this work, please add the following disclaimer along with the attribution: This translation was not created by Khazanah Research Institute and should not be considered an official Khazanah Research Institute translation. Khazanah Research Institute shall not be liable for any content or error in this translation. Published June 2021. Published by Khazanah Research Institute at Level 25, Mercu UEM, Jalan Stesen Sentral 5, Kuala Lumpur Sentral 50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Phone: +603 2034 000; fax: +603 2265 0088; email: [email protected] All queries on rights and licenses should be addressed to the Chairman’s Office, Khazanah Research Institute at the address stated above. Information on Khazanah Research Institute publications and digital products can be found at www.KRInstitute.org Cover artwork from Shutterstock ii KHAZANAH RESEARCH INSTITUTE The chapters of this book were written by members of the #NetworkedNation research team, comprising researchers and interns of the Khazanah Research Institute (KRI): Dr Rachel Gong, Amos Tong, Ashraf Shaharudin, Claire Lim, Emir Izat Abdul Rashid, Gregory Ho Wai Son, Hui San Chiam, Muhammad Nazhan Kamaruzuki, Shenyi Chua and Tan Zhai Gen. The editorial team comprised Dr Rachel Gong, Ashraf Shaharudin and Nazihah Muhamad Noor. This book was authorised for publication by the Board of Trustees of KRI, namely Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan and Datuk Hisham Hamdan. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Chapter 1 – Digital Inclusion: Assessing Meaningful Internet Connectivity in Malaysia The author would like to thank Hady Hud, Dr Nungsari Ahmad Radhi, Rinalia Abdul Rahim and reviewers from Bank Negara Malaysia for their valuable comments. The author is also grateful for the research assistance provided by Shariman Arif Mohamad Yusof, Ashraf Shaharudin, Amos Tong, Anne Sharmila Selvam, Claire Lim, Emir Izat Abdul Rashid and Shenyi Chua. The author would like to gratefully acknowledge the data shared by Bank Negara Malaysia, Pos Malaysia Berhad and Telekom Malaysia Berhad. Chapter 2 – The Quality of Mobile Broadband and Key Policy Recommendations The author would like to thank Mohd Amirul Rafiq Abdul Rahim, Theebalakshmi Kunasekaran, Ir Dr Khairayu Badron and Dr Mohamed Awang Lah for their valuable comments. Further thanks are extended to the participants of the internet speed experiment conducted by the author. Chapter 3 – Digital Platform Work: How Digital Access and Competencies Affect Job- Seeking The authors would like to thank Siti Aiysyah Tumin, Amanina Abdur Rahman, Mohd Redzuan Affandi Abdul Rahim and Syuibah Abirah Mohamed Tarmizi for their valuable comments. The authors are also grateful for the research assistance provided by Amos Tong. The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge the data shared by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). Chapter 4 – Digitalisation of Firms: Challenges in the Digital Economy The authors would like to thank Aidonna Jan Ayub, Siti Aiysyah Tumin, Tan Zhai Gen and reviewers at the LSE Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre (LSE SEAC) for their valuable comments. Chapter 5 – Open Government Data in Malaysia: Principles, Benefits, Challenges and The Way Forward The author would like to thank Adam Manaf Mohamed Firouz, Chee Yoke Ling, Kuang Keng Kuek Ser, Khairil Yusof, Dr Lim Chee Han, Nur Thuraya Sazali, Puteri Marjan Megat Muzafar, Siti Aiysyah Tumin, Dr Sonny Zulhuda, Mohd Amirul Rafiq Abdul Rahim, Sri Murniati and Yin Shao Loong for their valuable comments. Special thanks to the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU), particularly Dr Fazidah Abu Bakar, Zuraidah Abdul Rahman and Zulkfli Ahmad, and the Malaysia Open Science Platform (MOSP), particularly Dr Nuzatil Sharleeza, for helping the author to understand better the landscape and challenges of open government data in Malaysia. KHAZANAH RESEARCH INSTITUTE iii Chapter 6 – Personal Data Privacy: Surveillance and Security The authors would like to thank Ashraf Shaharudin, Muhammad Nazhan Kamaruzuki, Nazihah Muhamad Noor, Amos Tong, John Loh, Rueben Ananthan Santhana Dass and Dr Mary Beth Altier for their valuable comments. Chapter 7 – Digital Governance: Classification of Information Disorder The authors would like to thank Prof. Rosa M. Benito, Harris Zainul, Gayathry Venkiteswaran, Adam Manaf Mohamed Firouz and Nazihah Muhamad Noor for their valuable comments. The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge the research assistance from Amos Tong, Shenyi Chua, Goh Ming Jun, Lai Kah Chun, Timothy Chan Ying Jie and Wan Amirah Wan Usamah. Chapter 8 – Artificial Intelligence in the Courts: AI Sentencing in Sabah and Sarawak The authors would like to thank Aidonna Jan Ayub, Ong Kar Jin and representatives of the courts of Sabah and Sarawak and SAINS for their valuable comments. The team wishes to acknowledge the help and contributions from our colleagues: Anne Sharmila Selvam, Mohd Amirul Rafiq Abdul Rahim, Shariman Arif Mohamad Yusof and Theebalakshmi Kunasekaran for their research assistance; Adam Manaf Mohamed Firouz, Hazman Azim Mokhtar and Ilyana Syafiqa Mukhriz Mudaris for their assistance in the preparation of the book; Hazilah Abdul Karim, Nicholas Khaw and Siti Najyah Johar Salim from the Chairman’s Office for their operational support; and the many others whose interactions with us have directly or indirectly inspired us in shaping our research. Finally, we would like to acknowledge Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Chairman of KRI for supporting and encouraging the team to pursue digital policy research in KRI. We would also like to express our appreciation to Dr Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Senior Research Advisor of KRI, for his advice and insight throughout the course of this research project. While we have benefited tremendously from insights from various individuals and organisations in our research, any fault lies with the authors. iv KHAZANAH RESEARCH INSTITUTE CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 1 By Rachel Gong By Rachel Gong, Shenyi Chua and Hui San Chiam DIGITAL INCLUSION: ASSESSING PERSONAL DATA PRIVACY: MEANINGFUL INTERNET CONNECTIVITY SURVEILLANCE AND SECURITY 136 IN MALAYSIA 65 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 2 By Gregory Ho Wai Son and Emir Izat Abdul By Muhammad Nazhan Kamaruzuki Rashid DIGITAL GOVERNANCE: CLASSIFICATION THE QUALITY OF MOBILE BROADBAND OF INFORMATION DISORDER 152 AND KEY POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS 639 CHAPTER 8 CHAPTER 3 By Claire Lim and Rachel Gong By Tan Zhai Gen and Rachel Gong DIGITAL PLATFORM WORK: HOW DIGITAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE ACCESS AND COMPETENCIES AFFECT JOB- COURTS: AI SENTENCING IN SABAH SEEKING 66 AND SARAWAK 187 AFTERWORD 198 CHAPTER 4 By Amos Tong and Rachel Gong DIGITALISATION OF FIRMS: CHALLENGES IN THE DIGITAL ECONOMY 91 CHAPTER 5 By Ashraf Shaharudin OPEN GOVERNMENT DATA IN MALAYSIA: PRINCIPLES, BENEFITS, CHALLENGES AND THE WAY FORWARD 103 KHAZANAH RESEARCH INSTITUTE v INTRODUCTION “It is time to stop debating whether the [i]nternet is an effective tool for political expression, and to move on to the much more urgent question of how digital technology can be structured, governed, and used to maximize the good it can do in the world and minimize the evil.” Rebecca Mackinnon1 1 Mackinnon, Rebecca. 2012. Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom. New York: Basic Books Inc, Division of Harper Collins. https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/2222824. 1 KHAZANAH RESEARCH INSTITUTE INTRODUCTION When this research project was conceived in 2019, our team of policy researchers recognised the growing importance of digital technologies in Malaysia. As the country progressed in its efforts to develop 5G infrastructure, digitalise systems operations and automate the workforce, it would need digital policies that could maximise the potential of new applications and govern the responsible use of data and technology. Little did we know how the Covid-19 pandemic that began in 2020 would both accelerate and expand digital adoption and our reliance on digital tools, extending to remote education at primary school level, enabling microenterprises such as home bakeries to survive and allowing people to check in with loved ones when we could not cross state borders. The digital policy questions raised when we began the project remain pressing concerns for the nation, even as we move into the next normal where digital connectivity and technologies are more essential to social, economic and political life. In fact, we begin to see new policy questions emerge as we grapple with the implications of having a connection