JOHOR BAHRU, 20 August 2018 – The Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) has received a sum of RM 200,000.00 from the Japanese software development company, OK Blockchain Centre Sdn. Bhd. (OBC) to collaborate in the development of Blockchain technology.
The amount includes the RM150,000.00 for the setup of a blockchain lab in UTM School of Computing, and another sum of RM50,000.00 digital currency fund called Wowbit (WWB) to be used in blockchain case studies.
The donation was handed by the OBC Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Gen Matsuda to the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research and Development), Prof. Datuk Dr. Ahmad Fauzi Ismail after the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony held at Medini Iskandar Malaysia.
Also atttending the ceremony were the Chairman of School of Computing UTM, Prof. Dr. Abd. Samad Haji Ismail, the CEO of OKWAVE (parent company of OBC), Kaneto Kenomoto and also Medini Iskandar Malaysia CEO, Dr. James Tee.
Speaking in his welcoming address, Prof. Fauzi said that Blockchain is a technology created to prevent digital transaction scams and proven to be safe because it uses distributed data systems and requires verification from each peer as well as having a unique keyword for each chain, thus making it extremely difficult to be modified by internet hackers.
“One of the benefits of this blockchain technology is the use of cryptocurrencies as it is increasingly acceptable by the public because of its safety, and it has become new phenomenon in today’s world economy.
“By using the cryptocurrency system, two entities can perform transactions without a third entity such as the bank. Without the bank as the third entity, there will be no additional charges charged because only one transaction has been made,” said Prof. Fauzi.
Some examples of services using cryptocurrencies are cryptocurrency transfer, cryptocurrency exchanges, digital wallets and so on.
“Society today is still unclear about cryptocurrency technology. Therefore, besides conducting the research and development of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, UTM will also hold awareness campaigns on this technology by holding a series of talks to the surrounding communities.
“The aim is to maximize the benefits to the society, thus supporting the aspiration of establishing the Cryptobay Centre in Johor. Therefore, the UTM-OBC cooperation is very on point and important for the future of the digital economy,” he said.
Prof. Fauzi also said that the first project to be undertaken through this collaboration is the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) Project.
“This is an attempt to show blockchain affinity in the Islamic region. With the existence of Syariah-compliant ICO, the Muslim community can use this cryptocurrency without any doubt on legal issues from Islamic point of view.
“In fact, it will also provide an experience and new knowledge in the context of a whole new Islamic world economy,” said Prof. Fauzi.