The Centre for Foundation Studies (CFS) organised a talk titled “The Rise of E-Commerce in Malaysia” on 18 July 2018 at Kampar Campus. Invited to give the talk was Faculty of Accountancy and Management Deputy Dean for Academic Development and Undergraduate Programmes Dr Hen Kai Wah.
At the talk, Dr Hen provided insights on the development of e-commerce, the challenges of e-commerce in Malaysia as well as the role of UTAR in promoting e-commerce. He said, “E-commerce is the buying, selling and exchanging of products, services and information over the internet”. He also added that the rapid growth of the e-commerce market in Malaysia encouraged the expansion of the online shopping and local business scope.
Besides, he also shared about the history of e-commerce in Malaysia and categorised them into twelve different types. He then explained the different types of e-commerce by providing relevant examples such as Lazada, 11street, Lelong.my, Shopee and others.
According to Dr Hen, e-commerce in Malaysia has become exceptionally diverse. It is expected to face an advanced growth due to the variety of businesses and the initiatives of the new government. Among the growth catalysts, the Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ) was initiated by the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and was also commissioned by the Malaysian Government. The DFTZ set to provide a huge boost to Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) while assisting them with online marketing expertise provided by Alibaba. Moreover, the e-commerce platforms such as Lazada, Shopee and others are expected to be highly competitive in the future, attracting more online shoppers.
Dr Hen mentioned that challenges arise due to the lack of e-commerce awareness and involvement among SMEs. Among other reasons are limited network coverage and slow Internet speed, the increasing threat of cyber-attacks and online scams, and the slow adoption of e-payment systems. Dr Hen highlighted that the government is now taking effective measures by promoting education, sharing best practices in e-commerce among SMEs, increasing broadband access and speed, reinforcing the online cyber security and promoting e-payment method to improve the growth of e-commerce in Malaysia.
Before ending the talk, Dr Hen also shared the initiatives taken by UTAR to promote e-commerce among the students and staff. The talk ended with an interactive Q&A session followed by a certificate presentation to Dr Hen by CFS Kampar Director Tan Lee Siew as a token of appreciation.
Dr Hen delivering his talk
The audiences listening to the talk attentively
Tan (left) presenting the certificate and token of appreciation to Dr Hen
Front row: Dr Hen (third from right) and Tan (third from left) with staff and students
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