Digital nomads have the independence to switch places at the drop of a hat and work from anywhere in the world.

The term "nomad" originates from a Greek word meaning "roaming about for pasture". Nomads have existed for millennia with no fixed home, as they travel from place to place in search of food, water, and areas for their animals to graze.

The world now has given birth to a new and exciting version of our hunter-gatherer ancestors – digital nomads who live and work in whatever location their hearts longed for.

Remote workers too are jumping onto the nomad bandwagon. A study by MBO Partners in 2021 found that the number of American remote workers increased by over 200% since 2019 - a trend accelerated by the pandemic in 2020.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of people globally have embraced a digital nomadic lifestyle as jobs don't require a fixed location and are away from a cluttered workplace in their home country.

Driving more Digital Nomads to Malaysia has spill-over effects beyond just boosting the tourism industry. The creation of Digital Nomad hubs enables knowledge and experience sharing among local and foreign nomads, contributing to the vibrancy of the surrounding businesses and communities.

Encouraging Malaysian Ecosystem

In the Malaysian Budget 2022 announcement, Malaysian Minister of Finance Tengku Zafrul Aziz said the Government plans to introduce the Malaysia Digital Nomad programme to create a digital nomad community and ecosystem by using the tourism sector as a catalyst.

A report by Flexjobs in 2018 showed that 40% of digital nomads make more than US$50,000 a year, while 18% make more than US$100,000 annually. Hence, the Malaysian economy has much to gain from this new phenomenon with the influx of these digital nomads into the country.

Enter DE Rantau

DE Rantau programme is aimed at establishing Malaysia as the preferred Digital Nomad Hub in a bid to boost digital adoption and promote digital professional mobility and tourism across the country.

Speaking at the sidelines of the Expo 2020 Dubai in January this year, Minister of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia YB Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima TPr Annuar bin Haji Musa said, "Digital Nomad Hub is a departure from the location-based approach under MSC Malaysia. Now it is not just the Kuala Lumpur or Cyberjaya Super Corridor.

"It should not be exclusive, or location-based. (Having it) throughout the country, that is the part of major departure. Of course, suppose we want to encourage digital nomads, we must have the facilities in those areas, especially if you want to promote tourism in places such as Sipadan, Langkawi or Tioman,” the Honourable Minister was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.

The desired impact of the DE Rantau programme is its contribution to the local digital economy:

• Returning vibrancy to the local businesses in various sectors e.g. tourism, transportation, retail and F&B.
• Projected RM60 million spend contribution to the local economy in the first year of its implementation.

MDEC, through Malaysia Digital, is leading the DE Rantau programme in key areas:

• The development of DE Rantau hubs and local ecosystems suitable for the digital nomad lifestyle.

• The onboarding of digital nomads via outreach & awareness initiatives and visa facilitation.

  
  

 

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