Malaysia’s economic development strategies have evolved significantly since independence, focusing on reducing poverty, enhancing education, and integrating technology to foster sustainable growth. Despite substantial progress, challenges persist in achieving inclusive development across rural and urban sectors. This study examines the effectiveness of Malaysia’s New Economic Model (NEM) in addressing poverty and unemployment through technological and educational advancements. Employing a qualitative approach, it reviews literature on technology’s impact on economic growth, poverty alleviation, and the role of tertiary education in national development. Analysis reveals that while NEM initiatives have attracted foreign investment and improved infrastructure, gaps remain in educational access and technological self-reliance. The findings underscore the need for targeted policies that enhance educational outcomes, promote inclusive technology adoption, and address structural inequalities to achieve sustainable economic development. Recommendations include bolstering vocational training, enhancing rural infrastructure, and fostering public-private partnerships in technology innovation to ensure equitable economic progress.

The aim of this paper was to explore the 4.0 industrial revolution and globalization and their role in e-commerce as well as the current challenges facing e-commerce represented by the Coronavirus. The industry had gone through revolutions that contributed to its development, thus creating distinct and qualitative moves in it, and the matter had begun to shift from physical activity to mental creativity. Data for this study were obtained from existing literatures on industrial revolution of Coronavirus. The methodology heavily relied on existing previous literature on the subject being dealt with. The findings indicate that the economy has been affected and closely related to the results of the 4.0 industrial revolution, whether in a trade directly such as electronic commerce or by monitoring trade-related operations, analysing big data, and finding appropriate solutions. Moreover, the accomplishments achieved through them contributed significantly to increasing the benefit to people as the previous revolutions contributed at the time.