On Dec 18, the people of Sarawak will vote in a new government. A two-thirds majority is what will ensure stability.
Only a stable government can implement the many plans needed to bring progress to the state.
In this era of digital innovation, I think Sarawak has embarked on the right path to digitalise the many instruments of nation building.
I have been observing Sarawak in recent years.
I am confident that if the state sticks to the many plans in place, it will in no time emerge as one of the country's richest states, challenging the position held by Selangor and Penang.
Sarawak is blessed with natural resources, including forest resources, as well natural assets for renewable energy development, especially hydropower.
The state is rich in offshore petroleum resources. What the state needs to maximise value from such resources is to create the right innovation ecosystem to attract local and foreign investments.
I believe Sarawak has been serious about creating such an ecosystem to drive innovation.
Take the harvesting of forest resources. Years of unsustainable logging practices have been replaced by sustainable timber harvesting.
The change in logging practices started during the stewardship of the late chief minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem, and Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg, who took over as chief minister, has remained committed to that policy.
Many consider this move as wise and positive for the state.
It would be good if Sarawak also embarks on forest plantations to augment the supply of logs for the downstream timber industry.
Rubber tree has emerged as a favourite forest plantation species in many trials.
Together with the timber biomass from Sarawak's large swathe of oil palm plantations, the state is poised to generate lucrative economic rewards in the coming years.
Furniture making is one option to add value to the state's forest resources.
It was during the time of Abang Johari as chief minister that Sarawak grew serious about digitalisation.
As soon as he came into office, he launched Sarawak's digital economy blueprint.
The progress has been encouraging as the state implemented initiatives to transform Sarawak into a smart state, including transforming its capital, Kuching, into a smart city by banking on digitalisation.
I had the opportunity to interview the Sarawak Digital chief executive officer in our production of a book, "Malaysia Smart City Outlook".
It became clear that Kuching is ahead of other cities in the country on the smart city initiative.
Soon after, the government formalised the establishment of the Sarawak Research Council (SRC).
I consider that as another milestone in moving the agenda of the technology innovation ecosystem for Sarawak.
The latest that has come out from the SRC is the initiative to set up the Sarawak Infectious Disease Centre (SIDC).
This is seen as a wise move as the world now views investment in public health as critical, with the forecast that infectious diseases management is destined to be a big global business, after the bad experience with the Covid-19 pandemic.
There is no denying that Sarawak has set itself up as an exemplary state when it comes to harnessing the power of the digital technology.
One feature that other states should also emulate is the capitalisation of the state's university resources to drive innovation.
SRC works with the top academic institutions in the state, especially Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) and UCSI University.
With UCSI, there is active consultation on digitalising the hospitality and tourism sector, which is a major component of the state's economy.
Unimas supports the projects under SIDC.
I am sure the expertise in other colleges and universities in the state is included in the innovation ecosystem.
With these initiatives, Sarawak is on the right path to gain from the digital economy.
The writer is a professor at the Tan Sri Omar Centre for STI Policy, UCSI University
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times