Malaysians must apply futuristic thinking and act fast if they want to survive in today’s highly competitive world, Treasury secretary-general Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah said.

Futuristic thinking requires the people to start thinking outside the box with some ability to predict, not restricting themselves to the tried and tested methods, and not just benchmarking but aiming for quantum leap to bring continuous change, he said.

“The country needs to channel its efforts towards innovation and creativity, improve its technological capabilities or adapt suitable technologies from overseas.

“Many of our citizens, especially young people, involved in businesses that apply technology, we must create ecosystem that can facilitate them to go forward.

“And we should encourage more of our young people to be involved in entrepreneurship, especially in technology, so that we can become more competitive,” he said on the sidelines of the one-day ‘Managing the Future: Beyond 2020 Conference’ in Kuala Lumpur today.

Organised by the Academy of Leadership and Management of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), the conference, which aims at providing insights into what the future holds and how to prepare for the risks and opportunities that lie ahead, was attended by 180 UKM postgraduate students.

Irwan said other countries, such as Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, were currently doing similar transformation initiatives like Malaysia.

“If we are not getting ahead, not fast enough, this nation will be left behind in terms of development and prosperity,” he said.

Citing ride-hailing service Uber, Irwan said it needs to be regulated to ensure that its presence would not suppress the taxi service or any parties.

“That is why we formulate regulations so there will be a fair playing field for taxis,” he said.

On the other hand, the taxi service must also be more efficient and competitive, he said, adding if taxi drivers were to use the same application like Uber, they could also gain public attention.

“Technology application and payment like Uber, a service that is efficient and fast... that is what the rakyat want.

“This country is expanding fast and technologies keep changing. If the driver cannot deliver via taxi, they must not fear, they too can try to switch to Uber,” he said.

Irwan said the government might also help the taxi drivers with certain assistance so that they would not be left behind.

“But if we stop Uber, advancement of other technologies in this country will get retarded,” he said, citing fintech in banking as an example.

He said regulators should also get the law and regulations ready fast, otherwise the country would lag behind.

“Malaysian regulators, whether in banking, and so on, should change with the times and technologies faster,” he added.

- Bernama