SEPANG: Malaysia will be the first country to be promoted online by Alibaba founder Jack Ma on his digital platform.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, in announcing this today, said Ma has agreed to promote various Malaysian products for one week to the Chinese consumers, next year.
"In a car ride with Jack just now, he told me that he wanted to make next year - calling it the Malaysian week - to promote Malaysia online to Chinese consumers.
"They will hear about Malaysia, its food, products, culture and places to visit.
"Jack is so much in demand and many countries wanted him to promote their countries. But, he wants to make Malaysia the first," he said before the launch of Malaysia's Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ).
The prime minister said he was upbeat by the impact and outlook that DFTZ would have on Malaysia's economy and its people, especially for the small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
He said through DFTZ, it could create 60,000 new jobs by 2025 and SMEs' exports could stand at US$38 billion (RM160.95 billion).
"Why do we do this (the DFTZ initiative)? We want to redefine global trade. We want to be the leader of course together with China, and Alibaba.
"DFTZ will be the leader in the region and also a major transhipment hub. Why do we do this? Of course we want to promote the SMEs," he said.
Najib said in the beginning, Malaysia had targetted 1,500 SMEs worried that it would be tough to secure the target.
"But now, we have 1,972 SMEs and many more are coming. The people are excited about it," he said.
"We have made it (DFTZ). We have proven to Jack that the Malaysian government can work just as fast as Alibaba," he said.
Najib said he wanted the DFTZ to be one of the nation's iconic project, adding that Digital Malaysia would be the fastest growing sector for the nation's economy, which would enjoy a double digit growth.