As consumers, we have all embraced digital services wholeheartedly since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses and Government agencies made great progress in making available digital services needed to ensure limited interruption to our lives. We have all been witness to amazing journeys of change, innovation, and transformation. As citizens and consumers, we have high expectations of new digital experiences.
In conjunction with Merdeka Day, we decided to engage with the youth to understand their expectations of how citizen services could be more digital in the future. Accordingly, our Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of TM, Imri Mokhtar, hosted six (6) youth representing the diversity of Malaysia to hear from them, their expectations, aspirations, and hope for the future of public services.
This article is an edited transcript of the discussion. You can listen to the podcast episode in the upcoming weeks.
 | Rakcana Kardnanithi Lancaster University, MSc in Economics Lancaster University, BSc (Hons) Economics & Data Science Is passionate about leveraging data to solve the world’s biggest challenges. In a recent project, she studied the data on poverty-stricken states in India to help support the distribution of free school meals to students. |
 | William Kiong UCSI, BA (Hons) Accounting & Finance Is currently a research analyst with Twimbit. He is passionate about the crypto market and blogging on LinkedIn. He is an avid sportsperson and aspiring entrepreneur. He also contributes his time to a social initiative aimed at empowering young refugees in Malaysia. |
 | Asyraf Naim LSE, BA (Hons) Accounting & Finance Is a soon to be central banker and has a deep interest in financial markets, crypto and traditional precious metals. He worked at a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) to help improve access to the best tertiary education institutes in the world. |
 | Sarah Shevaun* Netherlands Maritime University College, BA (Hons) Maritime Law A true blue Borneon and is the first President of Educity's multi-varsity student senate. She conquered her fear of public speaking when she spoke at TedX UoSM in March 2020. |
 | Eeman Mansor* UiTM, LLB (Hons) Law Is actively engaged in advocacy work, especially in children’s rights. She currently holds the position of Deputy Country Director of ASEAN Youth Advocacy Network Malaysia. |
 | Mohamad Zulfarhan Ahmad Supiee Imperial College London, BSc (Hons) Medical Biosciences A Johorean who is passionate about laboratory research and the field of public health. He is the Vice President of Imperial College Malaysian Society and the Producer of Malaysian Night and is working to help foster bonds among Malaysian students. |
 | Imri Mokhtar UCL, BEng (Hons) Electronics Engineering Cambridge Judge Business School, Business & Leadership Programs Harvard Business School, Business & Leadership Programs Group CEO, Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) |
Imri Mokhtar: What is a great customer experience for you? What is the best customer experience you have had so far?
| Rakcana Kardnanithi: Grab – Accessible and efficient. Asyraf Naim: Revolut – Global personalised banking with great customer care. Eeman Mansor: BigPay – An integrated view of finances in one picture, at a low currency exchange. Sarah Shevaun: Etiqa.com - Quick and easy car insurance renewal. William Kiong: Airasia.com - Travel made easy with end-to-end digital service in one app. Mohamad Zulfarhan Ahmad Supiee: Foxtons (a UK based real estate agency) - Efficient and seamless digital contracts. “Current best customer experience should be the minimum expectation bar for future citizen services” - Imri Mokhtar |
Imri Mokhtar: What are the areas for improvement in public services today?
| Asyraf Naim: A more concise and responsive contact centre. Mohamad Zulfarhan Ahmad Supiee: Adoption of Cloud to enable real-time digital amendments, instead of redoing forms over the counter. Eeman Mansor: A uniformed user interface or user experience across different state government agencies websites to make it easy for data entry. Rakcana Kardnanithi: A unified public service. Most public agencies operate in silos which require us to fill in the same information repeatedly. Data transparency between different government agencies should be the way forward, as well as interacting with each other via Application Programmable Interfaces (APIs). Sarah Shevaun: A world class digital foundation that will cater to the digital native citizen. William Kiong: A centralised customer service. We had Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) that centralised most public services at the same place, physically. It is time for our public services to go digital with a single sign-on app. “The way we provide services must change, we need to start from the customer lens and in this instance the rakyat” - Imri Mokhtar |
Imri Mokhtar: What would a digitalised Malaysia look like to you?
 | Sarah Shevaun: For me, a digital Malaysia would be an upgraded port, because that is where our money and economy comes from. Visualise a ghost port, unmanned port where all things digital that utilise massive-scale Internet of Things (IoT) automation and next generation vessel traffic management. Not only will it be more efficient, it will also reduce a lot of government operating expenditure as well. |
 | Rakcana Kardnanithi: Accessible and efficient citizen’s journey. The future is going to be a hundred per cent co-creation and we should leverage this to create beautiful future citizen services. |
 | William Kiong: Digital Malaysia uses information and data. It is the currency of the future. Data transparency across different government departments and agencies. Single sign-on across all government websites. |
 | Mohamad Zulfarhan Ahmad Supiee: I think we need our own Ministry of Health App, where patients no longer need to carry multiple medical record books. Digitalise patient medical records, prescription history, information about their illness and emergency contacts. |
 | Eeman Mansor: I would like to see Digital Malaysia in the sense that it encompasses easy accessibility to education. Using augmented reality, virtual reality, proper digital tools to improve education and provide subsidies to underprivileged students to access technology. |
 | Asyraf Naim: Future Digital Malaysia for me is a convenience issue. Government yearly services should be auto deducted and adoption of AI to proactively help citizens manage their passport, driving license, taxes, etc. |
“We need a digital coalition starting from the rakyat, the government and its technology provider to co-create the design process for citizen services. Listening to all the bright ideas from the youth made me feel like a proud father. I can’t wait to see how these youth will lead and transform our country’s future. Let’s together build our digital Malaysia! Happy Merdeka Day” - Imri Mokhtar.
