Reinventing Government Through Connectivity

EG provides a rare opportunity to re-invent the government of Malaysia. It will redefine the relationships of government to citizens, to business and among its components. By enabling improved connectivity and communications between all parties, EG will facilitate Malaysia becoming fully developed in line with Vision 2020. The EG project thus creates an opportunity for the government to reengineer its processes, many of which are still manual in nature. Bureaucratic processes will be a thing of the past when government agencies are networked and electronic applications put in place to facilitate better delivery of information and services not only at government counters but through kiosks, personal computers, web TVs, telephones and others. What this means is, citizens need not deal directly with the respective government agency in order to obtain information or services but rather these services would be brought directly to the citizens. This would lead to a situation where the respective government agencies would no longer be associated with the specific services that they have to offer. Instead, citizens would have equitable access to these services through a multitude of delivery channels.

Greater availability of information also allows citizens to become more active participants in government, better informed and better equipped to demand higher standard of services. They will no longer be forced to deal passively with bureaucratic systems and processes. The gap between users of public services and the delivery agencies can be narrowed. Improved collaboration in information management across all layers of government can provide universal, cheaper and easier access for citizens to government.

EG will bring with it improved information flows and superior communication between the components of government. There will be dramatic improvements in the coordination of government resources, better analytical tools to solve the increasingly complex problems faced by a modern government and decision support tools to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of public policy. The impact of specific policies will be more measurable and transparent. Successful strategies can be more quickly recognised and replicated to be used as a mode while less successful strategies can be modified or changed. It will also enable information to be much more directly accessible to decision-makers. Information will flow more smoothly across ministries and agencies through a common database and compatible systems inter-linked by a secure, high-speed network. Hence, the speed and quality of decision making will improve dramatically.

Impetus to the Private Sector

The implementation of EG will invariably inculcate new values and new ways of doing things not only within the public sector but in the private sector as well. For example, one of the initial pilots to be implemented under the EG programme is Electronic Procurement which calls for direct electronic communications between government agencies and their suppliers from the private sector. This would necessarily compel suppliers, including the SMEs, to keep pace and ensure that their processes are also reengineered in order to communicate electronically with the government. Of course, this also means that the Government has to provide the necessary backing in terms of new infrastructure such as regulations pertaining to taxation and the like.

The government will also be able to contribute more to the private sector, both in providing timely access to valuable information collected and in reducing the frustrations for business in dealing with regulations and policies fragmented across the current structures of government. Effective cross-agency information management also can mean more effective business, and facilitate beneficial publicprivate sector partnerships.

Implementation of Electronic Government

Since the inception of the EG, a number of concrete actions have been undertaken by the Government to ensure its success. These include among others, the setting up of an administrative mechanism that is, the Electronic Government Steering Committee which has been entrusted with the responsibility of planning, implementing and monitoring the EG programme.

Apart from this, the Government has also published and issued a number of documents pertaining to EG namely "Towards a Vision for a New Electronic Government in Malaysia", "Electronic Government Information Technology Policy and Standards" or EGIT, "Electronic Government Blueprint for Implementation" and five concept request for proposals or CRFPs for the initial pilot projects that have been identified for implementation in the first place.

The vision of EG requires a comprehensive development and implementation programme, touching all aspects of government. It requires new processes, systems, structures, training to develop new skills and shared values. Realising that the journey of change will begin with a few small steps, the EG flagship application has targeted a few key services for the first phase of implementation. They are:

Prime Minister's Office Generic Office Environment

Project Monitoring System

Human Resource Management Information System

Electronic Government Procurement

The Electronic Delivery of Driver and Vehicle Registration, Licensing and Summons Services, Utility Payments and Ministry of Health On-Line Information.

Of these, the Project Monitoring System has been finalised and contract awarded to the successful bidder. The others are in their final stages of negotiation with the successful consortia that have been identified. The implementation of subsequent waves of EG applications will take cognisance of the lessons learnt during this pilot phase and will also depend on the future economic scenario.

Malaysia is certainly not alone in its efforts towards the creation of an electronic government. Many other governments world-wide have taken similar paths, have encountered issues and problems similar to that which is facing this nation and have recorded successes which can be emulated by others embarking on the same journey. I would like to take this opportunity to highlight just some of these.

World-Wide Implementations of Electronic Government

There are many examples of governments all over the world that have resorted to the use of IT to improve service delivery. There are numerous examples of IT-related applications at state, federal and local government levels particularly in the United States and some advanced European countries. Commonwealth countries too have successfully implemented IT-based innovations as evident from the winning projects of the International Innovation Awards Programme organised by the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management or CAPAM.

While the United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom and Singapore appear to be taking the lead in this area, other countries around the globe, including Malaysia also have begun to take advantage of the reach and range provided by IT and multimedia. I am happy to note that this symposium will showcase some of the applications that have had an impact on the citizens and users of the system.

Issues and Challenges

Implementation of a programme as huge and all encompassing as EG certainly abounds with issues and challenges. In order for EG to become a reality, these issues and challenges must be defined, associated concerns explored and creative and enduring solutions found.

Issues which have cropped up include among others, information security, establishment of a comprehensive, widespread and affordable telecommunications infrastructure and cyberlaws, adequate education and training which encompass not only Government employees but the masses as well, and last but not least, the need to harness new technological advances while protecting investments made in legacy systems.

Privacy and Security

The integration of computers and databases so integral to the EG initiative increases the need for privacy and security measures. It is crucial that the public is confident about the security of the Government's electronic information and information technology in creating Government services that are more accessible, efficient, and easy to use. Electronic systems must protect the confidentiality of information and assure that the information is not altered without authorisation, and be available when they are needed. Citizens and businesses should be able to understand how this is achieved, should have access to their own data, and should be confident that personal and other sensitive information is protected, and is kept and used accordingly.

The passing of the Digital Signature Act in 1997 is aimed at protecting the integrity of communications within the Government Intranet through the use of digital signatures and encryption. All of the companies or consortia awarded EG projects are required to integrate their applications with the digital signature system that has been approved by the Government.

Telecommunications Infrastructure

In addressing the issue of putting in place a comprehensive, widespread and affordable telecommunications infrastructure, the Government will be utilising the services of EG*Net which is an integrated virtual private network linking all the pilot agencies involved in the EG implementation. EG*Net is built upon the Government Integrated Telecommunications Network (GITN) Frame Relay and secured Intranet infrastructure and the network will be managed end-to-end, with central helpdesk facilities and on-site technical support.

Cyber Laws

As for the legal framework, Malaysia has enacted five high impact cyberlaws which among others will enable digital signatures, strengthen intellectual property protection, define rights and responsibilities of computer users and make provisions for computer crimes.

With the enactment of the Multimedia Convergence Act recently, there has also been a re-organisation of some of the functions of the Ministry of Information and these have been incorporated into the functions of my own Ministry. The Act addresses the overlapping roles of the telecommunications, computing and broadcasting authorities. New technologies could be abused if left unregulated. The Act is thus necessary because telephony, data transmissions and broadcasting are now possible with a common hardware. As an example, the high capacity network developed by Telekom Malaysia enables simultaneous transmission of data, voice and video at very high speed.

Education and Training

Apart from technological challenges, implementation of EG is also expected to meet with other obstacles that are related to human and organisational factors. New technologies are enablers for individuals and their organisations to achieve maximum productivity and effectiveness. But their success will depend mostly on the acceptance of these technologies by both the individual and the organisation. Human resistance is a major obstacle in many IT implementations. The introduction of IT-enabled processes requires the need to learn new skills and processes. These new requirements may cause anxiety and a sense of inadequacy, especially among the older staff members. This is compounded by the rapid change in IT products and services.

Equitable Access

The success of EG to a great extent depends on the use of its various instruments and its accessibility by the greatest number of people possible. Exclusion of some people from access will place them at a disadvantage in receiving Government information and services, and it will close the door to economic opportunity. Great care should thus be taken to ensure that such systems as will be established under the EG programme will not become elitist in nature, limited to only those who can afford the necessary technology and have the requisite computer skills. Continued emphasis should always be given to making services available through terminals such as kiosks in public places that are easy to use and require no special skills or knowledge.

Streamlining and Integration of Processes

One of the biggest challenges faced by EG implementation is the streamlining and integration of processes across the boundaries between government departments and agencies, so that those boundaries are invisible to the ordinary citizen. Laws, procedures and old ways of doing things need to give way to new, innovative, ITenabled ones. There should be greater sharing of resources for functions or processes that are common to more than one department or agency, thus reducing costs and simplifying systems. In the same vein, information that is required by more than one department should be readily shared, where this is legally permissible. As such, all heads of departments and agencies should be fully committed to make information of all kinds available electronically, barring those which need to be withheld in protecting personal or commercial confidentiality or in the public interest.

Any implementation of network computing applications must be preceded by a strategic assessment of how the changes support and align with the Government's philosophy for service delivery and economic development. This should then be followed by an assessment of how underlying processes can be influenced positively. Simply throwing technology at a problem is a prescription for chaos and waste.

Funding

Implementation of EG requires huge up-front capital investment and with constrained budgets, funding may be difficult to find. In addressing the issue of funding, creative approaches need to be explored. User 'convenience' fees and other non-traditional sources should be considered and governments should also explore the possibilities of fostering innovative partnerships with the private sector to build, operate and manage these network-based application services. Two of the EG pilot projects, that is, the Electronic Procurement and the Electronic Services are planned to be implemented in that manner so as to minimise the up-front cost to Government while enabling services that might not be offered otherwise.

Y2K

Lest we get carried away by the grandiose vision and envisaged benefits of EG, a most urgent and crucial issue that needs to be addressed is the millennium bug or the Y2K problem which is expected to cause havoc among computer systems that are not able to recognise the year 2000 when it rolls in. The consequences are grim enough for in a highly automated society like Malaysia, computers are used for every necessity such as payrolls and bank transactions. The EG programme may come to naught if hampered by the millennium bug faced by legacy systems that are so crucial to the successful implementation of EG. This has far-reaching consequences since many of the output of the public sector are critical to the economic health of the people and the nation.

Conclusion

We are currently witnessing yet another evolution in government's technology leadership model. The increasing use of information technology coupled with advances in telecommunications has again shifted the leadership mandate for government. Today, government leaders must extend their view of technology and reach beyond the realm of 'government-only-focus'. They must now embrace a vision of a technology infrastructure that serves not just government but business, institutions and individuals - one that ensures universal access to information and promotes electronic communication to entities where ever they may be. Realisation of this vision calls for visionary policy and mobilisation of government leaders who are committed to building regional, national or international network infrastructures to accommodate the electronic future.

Executing this vision is not a simple matter. If the vision is to be realised, government leaders are perforced to educate themselves on the issues and become integrally involved in creating and communicating what electronic government can offer citizens and the business community.

It is in this context that an international symposium of this nature become invaluable since they allow for the sharing of ideas and experiences. The organising of this symposium reflects an ongoing concern aimed at providing ample opportunity for senior public sector management to explore and appreciate how IT is changing the traditional modes of governance and the provision of services. In this respect, the efforts made to hold this Symposium by MAMPU and COMNET-IT is indeed laudable.

On that note, it gives me great pleasure to declare open, the International Symposium on Best Practice in Electronic Government.

Thank you.