KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 15): Private sectors have been encouraged to synergise statistical innovation efforts with the public sector to capitalise on the potential of big data in the future.
 
In a statement today at the annual MyStats 2016 conference, Minister in Prime Minister's Department Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said the statistical community "should exploit this opportunity to harness administrative and commercial data resources." 
 
He said more efficient information management and accurate data analysis will help the country keep track of its performance and effectiveness, as it works towards achieving a high income status.
 
Meanwhile, Toh Hock Chai, director of Statistical Services Department in Bank Negara Malaysia, shared on the sidelines that the big data analytics (BDA) initiative will see a lot more technological integration on available data. 
 
He added that MDEC will help to drive a lot of these initiatives related to big data analytics, as well as to bring in partners to help enhance the usage of big data and reduce reliance on data collected through surveys. 
 
Toh also talked about the recent failure in the polls data to predict the Brexit, as well as Trump’s victory in the presidential election, citing needs for quality data collection in statistics. With a community that is growing more suspicious of official data and reported numbers, there is a need to engage with different stakeholders, Toh said. 
 
"We need to communicate more on statistics. In the past, we [only] focused on disseminating,” Toh said. 
 
One-third of participants in the event today were from the private sector, citing the importance of involvement between the private and public sectors to see better statistical usage. 
 
Toh also shared that synergies between traditional statistics and new data sources made possible through BDA, is one of the agendas that will be discussed in the United Nations World Data Forum, which will be held in South Africa next year.