Jack Ma says it was Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) that inspired him to create Alibaba.

The Alibaba founder and executive chairperson stated today that the first seed of the idea that would eventually become the global e-commerce giant was planted when he read about the MSC almost 20 years ago.

“I was reading the newspaper (in 1997) and saw the news about the MSC. I thought, 'Wow, this is a genius idea.'

“(I thought) if Malaysia could do this, if this kind of thing could happen, why can’t this happen in China? Why can’t I start this thing for myself, for my company?

“So Malaysia inspired me to create Alibaba, and this morning, I thanked the prime minister for his great inspiration of the MSC,” he said, referring to his meeting with Mahathir earlier today.

Ma was delivering a speech during the launching of Alibaba Group's first Southeast Asian office in Kuala Lumpur today.

Monitoring MSC

He said that although the KL Alibaba office is small, it is much bigger than the one he had when he started China's first internet-based company in 1995.

At the time, he recalled, he was trying to figure out how the internet and its related technology could empower society and people. It was then that he came across the news on MSC.

Ma, however, admitted that he monitored the progress of the project for the next few years, but saw that "it did not work out."

The launching of the Alibaba office today is part of the company's commitment to Malaysia, following the launch of the Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) hub, in an agreement reached with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) under the previous BN administration.

The strategic collaboration was aimed at aiding SMEs and young Malaysian entrepreneurs capitalise upon the digital wave and turn Malaysia into a regional e-commerce and e-fulfilment hub.

The eWTP, the first launched by the Alibaba group outside of China, went live last year.

It is part of Ma's Digital Free Trade Zone brainchild, which is aimed at helping SMEs and new businesses conduct trade and cross-bordered transactions online, as well as to facilitate other e-commerce activities. 

Dr M's 'great vision' for technology

Despite the bilateral agreement with Alibaba being made during Najib's tenure, Ma stated that the MSC came to mind when he first envisioned creating an eWTP hub in Malaysia.

"When I come up with this idea for the eWTP Malaysia, this is a 20-year-old dream.

"(I thought) we should implement this here, and this will make a real multimedia super corridor to empower most of the small and medium companies and young people," he said.

The MSC was conceptualised by Mahathir during his first tenure as prime minister.

Officially launched in 1996, it was meant to serve as an economic zone and high-technology business district, with the vision of becoming a global technology hub and push Malaysia forward into the information age.

Centred in Sepang, the MSC covers Cyberjaya, Putrajaya, the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

In his meeting with Mahathir earlier this morning, Ma stated that he was shocked by Mahathir's knowledge and vision for technology.

He said: "To my great surprise, that a man who is almost 93 years old, had such a great vision for technology. He has such a great knowledge of technology."

He quipped that talking to Mahathir made him want to "read more books" upon returning home.