Malaysia aspires to evolve into a dynamic hub for technology and innovation, boasting a vibrant startup ecosystem with a dynamic entrepreneurial spirit infusing its businesses. This requires a whole of nation approach with various stakeholders playing their role.
Malaysiakini and Digital News Asia, two independent media who place integrity at the heart of their work, are playing their role as well with the introduction of their Top in Tech Innovation Awards, a platform to highlight and amplify the efforts of those who are using technology and being innovative around how they sharpen their competitiveness and improve the impact their work has.
Only eight categories with a max of 12 winners are chosen by a small group of no-nonsense judges who are respected leaders in their space. Malaysiakini and DNA do not interfere in the judges' decisions.
Not all categories has winners and for the 3rd edition awards, judges felt no finalist had done enough in two categories to be awarded as winners, namely the Best Pivot - Startup and Most Impactful Academia-Industry Collaboration - Commercial.
This reflects a shared commitment by the judges and Malaysiakini and DNA to ensure high standards for Top in Tech Innovation, which we aspire to grow into the most credible and respected tech based innovation awards in the country.
The judging process in January culminated with the award ceremony held on Feb 28 with the support from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI).
“This award signifies the tremendous progress we have made in fostering a culture of innovation in Malaysia. As we look at the diverse 8 categories of these awards, from 'Innovator of the Year' to 'Young Innovator,' it becomes evident that innovation knows no bounds. It can emerge from any corner of our society, at any age, and in any field. It's this inclusivity of innovation that makes Malaysia's innovation landscape so unique and promising,” said YB Tuan Chang Lih Kang, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI).
A Golden Opportunity to Share Your Success Stories with a Wider Audience
“The tech industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the world and innovation is a major reason for this growth. Hence this is why we introduced the Top In Tech Innovation awards, an award that focuses on credibility and authenticity to those who are doing exceptional work,” said Karamjit Singh, CEO of Digital News Asia.
“This year we have seen many tech disruptions such as the introduction of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and tech that allows you to have human-like conversations, deep learning and much more. Let us rally behind our Malaysian companies and make them the champions in this age of technology disruption,” said Premesh Chandran, Co-Founder of Malaysiakini.
Congratulations to all of our Top In Tech Innovation Awards Winners & Merit recipients!
1) Innovator of the Year (An individual award)
Winner: Steven Ng Yong Beng for Anti Slip Eco Safety Shoes
Merit Mention 1: Lt. Kolonel Bersekutu (PA) Frank Tan for Smart Integrated Helmet
Merit Mention 2: Stefan Chew for SafeBATH Series Range of Assistive Bath Devices!
2) Young Innovator of The Year Winner: Team Bitara from SMK Tung Hua for Flash Guard System
Merit Mention: Team SJKC Yuk Chai for AI Caregiver with IOT
3) Most Promising - Startup
Winner: AI Labs
Merit Mention: Global Cerah
Most Promising - Growth Company
Winner: SS Rover
Merit Mention: Direct Lending
4) Best Pivot Growth Company
Winner: Dreamory Entertainment Group
5) Most Value Creation
Winner: Involve Asia
Merit Mention: CARSOME
7) Best Brick & Mortar Adoption
Winner: Merchantrade Asia
Merit Mention: GDEX Berhad
8) Most Impactful Public Sector Agency Driving Digital Adoption for Federal Level
Winner: Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri Malaysia
9) Most Impactful Public Sector Agency Driving Digital Adoption for State Level
Winner: Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation
Merit Mention: Pengurusan Air Selangor
10) Most Impactful Academia-Industry Collaboration for R&D
Winner: University Malaya for Integrated RF Energy Harvesting System in 5G Wireless Sensor Node for Internet of Things (IoT) Application
Merit Mention for R&D: University Malaysia Sarawak
Winners took home unique prizes
● A custom designed Trophy by the Ghetto Playground Waste Art & Sculptures
● Ad Inventories worth up to RM 80,000 from Malaysiakini and Digital News Asia
● Cash Prize of RM1000 for the Young Innovator category
● Complementary access to selected MDEC funding programmes
A Big Thank You to Our Outstanding Judges and Participants!
1) Innovator of the Year
Lead Judge: Datuk NK Tong, Group Managing Director, Bukit Kiara Properties Sdn Bhd
Sharala Axryd, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, The Center of Applied Data Science (CADS)
Suresh Thiru, Start-up Advisor, Angel Investor
2) Young Innovator of the Year
Lead Judge: Prof. Ir. Eur. Ing. Ts. Dr. Vinesh Thiruchelvam, Chief Innovation & Enterprise Officer, APU / APIIT
Elain Lockman, CEO & Co-Founder, Ata Plus
Karamjit Singh, CEO of Digital News Asia
3) Most Impactful Academia-Industry Collaboration
Lead Judge: Thillai Raj, Chief Technology Officer, BAC Education Group
Naguib Mohd Nor, Chief Executive Officer, Strand Aerospace Malaysia
Karamjit Singh, CEO of Digital News Asia
4) Most Impactful Public Sector Agency Driving Digital Adoption (Federal & State Level)
Lead Judge: Dato' Seri Wong Siew Hai, President, Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association
Dr. Abdul Reezal, President/CEO, Resanix Technology
Dr. Gabriel Walter, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, QEOS
5) Best Brick & Mortar Adoption
Lead Judge: Raja Teh Maimunah, CEO AEON Bank (M) Berhad
Dato’ Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi, Founder & CEO Babydash
Karamjit Singh, CEO of Digital News Asia
6) Most Value Creation
Lead Judge: Dr V. Sivapalan, Senior Partner & Co-Founder, ScaleUp Malaysia Accelerator
Mohd Safuan Mohd Zair, Chief Ecosystem Development Officer, MRANTI
Pennie Lim, CEO and Founder of HOMA
7) Best Pivot
Lead Judge: Chen Chow, Co-Founder, Fave
Aizat Rahim, Managing Director & Co-Founder, Dropee
Johnson Lam Hooi Liang, Chief Innovation Officer, SOLS247, Founder, KakiDIY / KakiRepair
8) Most Promising
Lead Judge: Ganesh Bangah, Executive Chairman, Commerce.Asia
Karamjit Singh, CEO of Digital News Asia
Lavinie Thiruchelvam, Founder & CEO, Babydash Sdn Bhd
Our Special Appreciation and Gratitude to all of our Partners and Sponsors
This year’s Awards we were proud to have on board our:
Innovation Partner & Venue Host - Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology and Innovation (MRANTI)
Digital Economy Partner - Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)
Strategic Partner - MyDigital
Digital Tech Education Partner - Asia Pacific University of Technology & InnovationTelco Partner - U Mobile
Gold Sponsor - Cyberview
Ecosystem Partners - PIKOM, Selangor Information Technology & Digital Economy Corporation(SIDEC), Sabah Creative Economy and Innovation Centre (SCENIC), Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC), Digital Penang, SME Malaysia, Internet Alliance and Proficeo
Media Partner - BFM, The Business Station
If you missed the award ceremony, you can watch the replay of the Top In Tech Innovation Awards 3rd Edition HERE. You can also visit our award photo gallery here and our Facebook page for more upcoming events.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
