From October 22 to 23, the International Digital Economy Conference Sarawak 2025 (IDECS25) unfolded in Malaysia as a major gathering point for global conversations about technology and sustainability. Built around the theme “AI and Green Evolution: Growth, Challenges, and Community Resilience,” the conference focused on how disruptive tools can support long-term development while responding to climate and societal pressures.
Hosted by the Sarawak Government, IDECS25 drew more than 10,000 participants from across the world. Government officials, industry specialists, corporate leaders, and investors filled the venue, reflecting the conference’s role as both a policy forum and a practical marketplace for ideas, partnerships, and deployments tied to the digital economy.
The opening ceremony underscored the event’s prominence in the region. The Premier of Sarawak, the State Secretary, the Minister of Utility and Telecommunication, and other Malaysian dignitaries and organizational representatives attended, signaling strong public-sector attention to the technologies being discussed and the projects being shaped on-site.
Digital Twin Solutions Take Center Stage
As a digital twin technology enterprise, 51WORLD was invited to join the exhibition and present its work in supporting digital transformation in multiple countries through digital twin technologies. At the conference floor, 51WORLD and Insights Analytics Berhad (IAB) appeared with digital twin solutions aligned with Sarawak’s digital economy strategy, presenting global use cases spanning smart cities, water, ports, energy, and buildings. Their booth drew entrepreneurs and experts who stopped for interactive demonstrations and extended technical exchanges.
Representing 51WORLD at the event, Executive Director Greta Pu and Global Sales Director Michael Tang spoke with government officials, industry leaders, and technology experts from different regions about how digital twin technology can be applied in real systems. Those conversations centered on innovation that links digital platforms with operational decision-making, and on how such tools can support higher-quality growth within the digital economy.
A notable moment came when Sarawak’s Premier, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr.) Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari Bin Tun Datuk Abang Haji Openg, visited the 51WORLD booth. The team walked him through the company’s technology and its global practices across smart cities, industrial manufacturing, energy infrastructure, and smart water management. They also shared 51WORLD’s vision of “Cloning the Earth’s 510 million square kilometers,” along with its mission to enable digital transformation through digital twin technology, which the Premier praised while expressing interest in deeper collaboration, including smart city development in Sarawak.
A Partnership Milestone and a Future Cities Message
During IDECS25, 51WORLD and IAB signed a Memorandum of Understanding, adding a formal marker to their cooperation and setting a clearer path for joint work. IAB, founded in 2003 and headquartered in Sarawak, is a Malaysian digital infrastructure solutions provider and a publicly listed company on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia. Its work focuses on solving operational challenges using technologies including the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and data analytics.
With shared technological perspectives and aligned market goals, the two sides will work together to expand the use of digital twin and IoT technologies in areas such as flood prevention and drainage, urban governance, and energy management. The collaboration is positioned to deliver more competitive digital products and solutions for Malaysian clients, supporting the country’s push toward intelligent and digital transformation.
The conference program also gave 51WORLD a platform to frame its view of what comes next for urban systems. At the Future Cities Sub-Forum, Michael Tang delivered a keynote describing digital twin platforms as the “intelligent brain” of future cities, emphasizing how they can integrate data and connect virtual and physical systems to strengthen day-to-day urban management. He pointed to examples drawn from 51WORLD’s work in smart water, emergency response, and urban planning to illustrate how such platforms can support better coordination and faster, more informed decision-making.
