KUALA LUMPUR: KL Converge 2014, Malaysia’s inaugural creative digital event that is starting today, aims to be a forum for players of the local digital entertainment industry to find business opportunities locally and abroad.

It is also a great chance for those in the local content and creative industry (CCI) to network with their colleagues across the Asean region, said its joint organising committee spokesman Datuk Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi.

“Currently, we are at about 67% household broadband penetration and 143% mobile penetration, of which almost 80% is on 3G, but where’s the content coming from?

“If we can bring in foreign content and dub it into the national language, then why not look at the potential of the same being done to Malaysian content in other parts of the world? Maybe there are a few of those already happening, but [they are] few and far between,” said Mohamed Sharil, who is also chairman of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

Mohamed Sharil said KL Converge is part of the efforts under the government’s Economic Transformation Programme to up CCI’s contribution of to the gross national income to about RM57 billion by 2020 from the current RM30 billion.

“If you look beyond Malaysia to Asean then the consumption level is about 500 million people. Of course the income levels are different, but consumption power is there.

“We’ve not truly focused on going out there to the market, but this is the start of the journey. It’s also time to create the opportunity here to let people come and see what Malaysia has to offer,” he added.

Speakers at the forum include Academy-Award-winning director Roger Christian and executive vice-president and head of Telenor Asia operations, Sigve Brekke.

Jointly organised by the Communications and Multimedia Ministry, the Multimedia Development Corp (MDEC), MCMC and the National Film Development Corp Malaysia, KL Converge will end on Friday.


This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on September 17, 2014.