There is a view that the power and scope of Government has been shrinking over time. Yet there is increasing evidence that such a shrinkage may not necessarily be the case. On the contrary, it may be the reverse. A quick look at some basic functions of Government in finance and taxation, income distribution, regulation, promotion of commerce as well as health and education shows that while there will be changes in some, other areas may either be enhanced or hardly affected. The critical factor that will make the difference for Government is information technology and the Internet. Technology and the role of Government will become intertwined in such a way that IT and Government will both transform and be transformed by each other.

The Information Age offers Government the opportunity to do things differently. Electronic Government is the key to make that happen. The Government spent close to 490 million Ringgit on the purchase of computer systems for the period between 1977 and 1988. Subsequent growth in allocations for IT development has been phenomenal. Between 1990 to 1997, the Government spent close to 2.4 billion Ringgit for computerisation. Yet, the impact of such investment in computerisation has not been very dramatic. Today, with the tremendous potential of internetworking and systems integration under Electronic Government aided by powerful high speed enabling infrastructures, we hope to make a real difference.

Here in Malaysia, we have committed ourselves to doing just that with the introduction of Electronic Government and six other flagships under the Multimedia Super Corridor or MSC. Under the leadership of the Right Honourable Prime Minister, the MSC is being prepared as a world information and communications hub. It is a corridor that offers a number of sophisticated investment, business, R&D, governance and lifestyle options.

Much water has flowed under the bridge since we announced the EG Concept Request for Proposals in 1996. The regional economic slump has muddied the waters somewhat for the accelerated pace of development of EG and other MSC projects in the country. But in the words of the Prime Minister, despite jolted ambitions, we are determined that the development of the MSC flagships proceed unimpeded.

The holding of this International Symposium is a reaffirmation of this commitment. Tracking the best in strategies and methodologies in implementing Electronic Government keeps our own Electronic Government initiative active, robust and at the cutting edge. That is why, together with COMNET-IT, we have ensured that the most current and successful practices in this area are discussed here in this Symposium.

I must take this opportunity to place on record our deep appreciation to the Honourable Datuk Leo Moggie, Minister of Energy, Communications and Multimedia for his unstinting support of the various initiatives for the development of IT and multimedia in Malaysia. Datuk Moggie has been a champion in steering through Parliament the relevant cyber legislations, displaying leadership in tackling the Y2K problem and ensuring streamlined reorganisation of Government functions in the area of communications and multimedia. It is to his credit that the responsibility of overseeing both these sectors has now been placed under the care of his new ministry.

On a similar note, I wish to thank Tan Sri Abdul Halim Ali, the Chief Secretary to the Government, who has been personally involved in all the efforts that have gone into making Electronic Government in Malaysia a reality, particularly in his capacity as Chairman of the Electronic Government Steering Committee.

Before I end, I wish to express our thanks to the Commonwealth Secretariat for its support in co-sponsoring this Symposium with the Malaysian Government. Our thanks and appreciation also go to COMNET-IT, in particular its Executive Director, Mr. Henry Alamango, who has played a vital role in identifying and mobilising the many experts who are gathered here to tell us of their experience in Electronic Government. Our thanks also go the scores of companies and consortiums who have helped us out in the implementation of Electronic Government in particular those who are talking part in the exhibition outside. Finally, I will not forget to thank the members of our Secretariat whose untiring efforts have helped make the Symposium a reality.

One of the objectives of this Symposium is to enable participants to explore the challenging role of Information and Communications Technology or ICT in meeting the future needs of Government. I am confident that given the quality of the discussions that will follow today and over the next two days, we will more than achieve this objective.

With that Ladies and Gentlemen, I welcome you once again to this International Symposium and wish you a productive session of discourse and information exchange. Thank you.