Ministries must be pro-active in maximising use of ICT

2009/11/09

PUTRAJAYA: The ministries must take pro-active action to maximise the use of information communication technology (ICT) in the delivery of public services because it can improve the quality of life of the people and the image of the government, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said today.

However, the e-Government initiative should move one step further and go beyond automation of government transactions, the prime minister said.

It had to build the types of services that the public needed and expected, including making full use of available multimedia tools, mobile access devices and social network on the Internet.

"Only when the citizens utilise the services and derive benefit from it, can we consider that a successful delivery of public service," he said before chairing the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Malaysia Implementation Council meeting here.

This is the first time that Najib is chairing the meeting since taking over as prime minister in April this year.

Najib said it was important to bring the national ICT initiative to the backyards of as many Malaysians as possible to help close the digital divide and stimulate economic activity in the more rural areas of the country, citing the example of MSC Malaysia Pahang. ICT should be seen as not just an industry to be developed but also as an enabler for major economic sectors to increase productivity and efficiency.

There should also be more initiatives to benefit the citizen and to improve the quality of life, he said.

"The e-Government initiative, which features MSC Malaysia e-Government application, was ranked 11th in the world in 2008 according to the US-based Brookings Institute, a commendable 14-place jump from its 25th position in 2007," he said.

Najib said the e-Government project made it possible for the public to conduct business with the government over the Internet any time of the day or week and was one of the ways that had made great strides in improving the public service delivery.

He said a pilot project to allow Public Works Department draughtsman to work from home was one such example.
"I would like to now give you an update on what MSC Malaysia has achieved in the year 2008. Despite the deteriorating global economic condition towards the fourth quarter of that year, I'm encouraged to learn that MSC Malaysia revenue grew steadily from RM17 billion to RM21.8 billion which was a year-on-year growth of more than 23 per cent.

"Up to 2008, there were over 90,000 high skill jobs in MSC Malaysia and this accounts for more than a quarter of the ICT workforce in Malaysia.

"In addition, MSC Malaysia value added contribution to Malaysia's GDP was over 1.2 per cent in 2007. I would certainly like to see this figure more than triple by the year 2020," he said.

Najib said MSC was the foundation from which could build a world class technology sector that could be one of the engines of growth in the New Economic Model which is to be unveiled by the end of this year.

He said the New Economic Model would be powered by innovation, creativity and high value activity which were a natural fit with MSC Malaysia's aspirations to built the vibrant Malaysian ICT industry.

"When discussing matters during the council meeting, I would encourage everyone to bear in mind that we aim to be a develop nation by the year 2020 and that we are looking to more than double our per capita gross national income from USD7,000 to at least USD17,000 by then in order to qualify as a high income nation according to World Bank classification.

"This would also mean that Malaysia has to grow its GDP by over 9 per cent annually until the year 2020," he said.

Najib said MSC had already put certain emphasis to various ICT taxes which it had put in place the framework for a regional creative multimedia hub with some 200 companies generating RM677 million in annual revenue in the areas of post production, animation, game development, e-learning, mobile and interactive content.

"We need to take advantage of this strong start to win a bigger share of the global content market-estimated to be worth RM2.2 trillion in 2009.

"We need a plan to increase adoption of local ICT solution and services in the domestic market and give them a stable home base from which they can branch out to international markets," he said.

Najib said Malaysia also benefit from the strong presence of the world's top multinationals such as HSBC, BMW, HP and BHL, which were a testament to the quality of Malaysia workforce and the attractiveness of MSC Malaysia incentive.

"In the context, we have infact become a victim of our own success and companies are now facing difficulties finding quality knowledge workers due to the imbalance of supply and demand.

"We, therefore need to ensure our education system and social environment has the capacity to produce, attract and retain talent for the industries of today as well as tomorrow.

"But, while the development for the ICT industry is encouraging, we will need to reassess our implementation strategies in like of the more complex and challenging global environment as well as where Malaysia needs to be in the next 10 years," he said.
-- BERNAMA