KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — Gaming hardware company Razer Inc has pledged to invest another RM10 million on top of the allocated RM10 million in Budget 2019 for the e-sports sector.
Its chairman Tan Min-Liang said this in response to Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman’s encouragement to investors on Twitter after the Budget announcement today.
“Bro, it is an incredibly progressive budget for Malaysia to commit RM10 million to e-sports for the youth and millennials. In light of that, I will also be investing RM10 million for e-sports in Malaysia in 2019. Let’s bring esports to the next level together!” the Singaporean entrepreneur Tweeted.
In response, Syed Saddiq thanked him for his pledge, saying it is “a huge step”.
“Thanks bro! This is a huge step in creating a bigger and more sustainable ecosystem for e-sports in Asean,” he said.
Thanks bro! This is a huge step in creating a bigger and more sustainable ecosystem for esports in ASEAN. https://t.co/LkXnN329Bd
— Syed Saddiq (@SyedSaddiq) November 2, 2018
The interaction between the two was met with positive responses by their followers.
During the Budget tabling in the Dewan Rakyat, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the allocation would be granted to the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), so e-sports can be developed as an industry and activity of interest among the younger generation.
MDEC chief executive officer Datuk Yasmin Mahmood welcomed Lim’s announcement, saying it legitimised and empowered youths to pursue their passion for e-sports and video games.
“It is estimated that there are 2.4 million e-sports enthusiasts in Malaysia alone. We are ranked number 21 in global game revenue estimates for 2017 with US$587 million (RM2.44 billion) ahead of countries including the Netherlands and Poland,” she said in a statement.
Yasmin said the e-sports industry can potentially provide high-quality jobs for youths, including software developers and engineers, graphic designers and illustrators, and even marketing and advertisers.
“This will give Malaysia the opportunity to groom new talents who can become e-sports and in the creation of games for the world market.
“This is a great start in making Malaysia the regional e-sports hub which will be part of the overall high technology games industry,” she said.
