NEWS & UPDATES

KUCHING
19 JANUARY 2021

Malaysia’s largest renewable energy developer and power utility recently received the 2020 Malaysia Enterprise Innovation Awards for efforts to drive digital technology adoption in its digital transformation journey.

The award was presented in conjunction with Asia IoT Business Platform (AIBP) Insights Malaysia, a series of country-focused sessions which convene ASEAN stakeholders to discuss enterprise technology adoption topics in the region which was held virtually from 5-7 October 2020.

The 2020 edition brought together about 700 participants from over 20 countries including Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, China, Japan, Spain, Netherlands and United Kingdom, among others.

Datu Haji Sharbini Suhaili, Sarawak Energy Group CEO, said when commenting on the awards, “This recognition motivates us to continue moving forward with greater emphasis on the role of digitalisation in our business. We launched our digital blueprint and roadmap in 2018 as a strategic initiative and as part of our transformation to become a digital utility by 2025. It involved digitalising our processes and methods including equipping staff with digital tools and learning opportunities.”

Explaining how the strategic decision enabled them to navigate the challenges of COVID-19, he said, “When the global COVID-19 pandemic hit, we were already in a much more digitalised working environment, so we were able to continue operating over the course of the past year leveraging on the experience we gained through our earlier digitalisation initiatives.”

He continued, “This year 2021 marks our 100^th year of powering Sarawak. In the last few decades, we have made tremendous strides in transforming from a traditional utility into a modern and agile company and energy developer with a regional ambition and digitalisation has been a key enabler of our track record of accomplishments.”

The corporation, represented by Sim Ko Sin, Senior Vice President for Information & Communications Technology, also participated in AIBP Insights focus discussion titled ‘Managing Assets and Portfolio Performance in Scale’.

At the session, Sim shared the different parts of Sarawak Energy’s digitalisation journey the corporation has embarked on and how it has enabled a modernised workplace. This includes trialing data analytics in retail fraud, water dispatch management, and smart business initiatives such as Retail Transformation, Digital Power Plant and Smart Grid. She also shared how Sarawak Energy leverages private fibre optics for connectivity complemented by satellite communications in supporting its digital initiatives and rural operations, as well as playing a part in Sarawak’s aspiration of connectivity to rural and remote areas.

Other participants in the session include Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Corporation and the Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM).

Established in 2017, the ASEAN Enterprise Innovation Awards celebrate organisations which have adopted digital technology to improve their business processes and transform their businesses. Two winners are selected from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam respectively, on an annual basis with the current winners coming from Vietnam and Malaysia.

Sarawak Energy was recognised for its digital adoption initiatives and received the 2020 Malaysia Enterprise Innovation Awards.