Malaysia's broadband penetration rate has surpassed the original target of 50 percent to 55.6 percent, said Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

He said a mere increase in broadband penetration rate, or cellular density in itself, however, would not guarantee economic growth and improve well-being for people.

"These advancements in communications infrastructure must be coupled with real and concrete applications which will increase productivity output," he said at the opening of the 10th Asean Telecommunications and Information Technology Ministers Meeting in Kuala Lumpur today.

He said new ways of providing applications and services should be explored and initiated across all sectors of the economy.

"The New Economic Model, coupled with continuous improvements in the communications and ICT (information and communications technology) infrastructure, seek to transform the Malaysian economy into one with high income and quality growth over the next decade with knowledge and innovation as the key elements," he said.

The 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP), Najib said, clearly articulated the central role of ICT as a bedrock for the nation to vault forward to a high-income economy.

"The quantum leap under the 10MP will see ICT expand from being a vertical sector to include the horizontal as well, as it cuts across all spheres of the economy and the lives of Malaysians," he said.

In Malaysia, he said, telecommunications and ICT had served as the primary enabler for economic development and growth in the last decade.

Within the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean), the ICT has been identified as one of the grouping's economic pillars, he said.

"ICT has a huge multiplier effect on economic growth as it has the potential to make supply chains more efficient, collaboration richer, financial transactions faster, pricing more dynamic and processes transparent," he said.

Najib said the ICT could accelerate the flow of goods and services across national borders and underpinned by effective competition, could stimulate and improve trade by connecting people and places previously not connected.

"One of the best examples of how the new emerging structure of the ICT industry is evolving can be seen with the rise of social networking and the Web 2 environment.

"Web 2.0 solutions empower individuals to use the Internet for global collaboration, innovation and information sharing.

"Not only has it empowered and changed the lives of individuals, the Web 2.0 world has spawned new business models and altered the way goods are sold, content is provided and value is created," he said.

- Bernama