The fourth industrial revolution: a catalyst for regional development in Malaysian seaport sector

ABSTRACT Seaports enable national and international trade in nearly every country around the globe. The new digital world has led most seaport sectors to fully embrace new technologies and tools to better compete with other seaports. Moreover, such maritime activities have potentially significant effects on regional development. The east coast region in Peninsular Malaysia is less developed than the west coast region. It has caused a significant regional development gap, particularly in infrastructure quality, community services, production volume diversification, job opportunities and rising average wealth. Firstly, this study assesses how economic activities affect regional development in Peninsular Malaysia. Secondly, this study aims to identify the challenges and strategies for resolving the regional development imbalance in Peninsular Malaysia. A semi-structured face-to-face interview with fifteen maritime experts was adopted to achieve the proposed objectives. Interview outcomes helped identify and resolve significant problems and create strategies to facilitate the regional development of Malaysian seaports. IR 4.0: These novel strategies may lead to digitalisation in decision-making methods concerning regional development in the Malaysian seaport sector. Integrating four approaches could increase the regional development progress and facilitate continuous growth for the Malaysian seaport industry. The new findings recommend Malaysian seaport digitalisation through progressive regional development.