This article appeared in New Straits Times 26 March 2022.

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 297 contestants are participating in the Finance Ministry's (MoF) 2022 E-Sports Carnival, the first e-sports competition in the country to adopt 5G technology.

"This carnival is one of the ways the MoF supports the use of 5G technology which hopefully will help Malaysia lead in the area of digital economy in this region," said Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz in a statement.

"At present, the 5G network is available in a few areas in Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, and Kuala Lumpur; the penetration rate of 5G in this country is expected to breach 80 per cent of populated areas by 2024."

Contestants at the carnival which is happening today and tomorrow at the main hall of the MoF Complex in Putrajaya, are from the Welfare and Sports Council of Members of the Ministry of Finance (MKSAKK), with the competition aiming to identify e-sports talent from the finance ministry and expose them to a higher level of competition.

The games being contested are Player Unknown Battleground Mobile (PUBGM), Mobile Legend (ML) and FIFA 22.

The carnival is part of a strategic collaboration between MoF and a few agencies of government-linked companies, as well as from the private sector such as Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB), Ericsson Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Telekom Malaysia Bhd, YTL Corporation Bhd, Xiaomi Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Oppo Electronics and IESPA Sdn Bhd. — BERNAMA