 | Issue: | Asia-Pacific 2004 |
| Article no.: | 4 | |
| Topic: | Driving Pervasive Connectivity – Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor | |
| Author: | Dr Wilson Tay | |
| Title: | Vice-President | |
| Organisation: | Multimedia Development Corporation | |
| PDF size: | 108KB |
About author
Dr Wilson Tay is the Vice-President of Malaysia’s Multimedia Development Corporation. Prior to joining MDC, Dr Wilson was the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Knowledge Officer of The Media Shoppe. He has also served as the Chief Executive Officer of TEC Asia Centre, and as Executive Director of Corporate Services for the State Government Agency in Western Australia. As a result of his work there, he was awarded the inaugural 1995 Western Australian Public Sector CPA of the Year Award and was awarded a visiting fellowship, representing Australia, as a Fullbright International Business Visitor in six US capital cities. Dr Tay also worked as a lecturer at Curtin University of Technology, as a Management Accountant, as a Chartered Accountant with Price Waterhouse & Co, and at Murdoch University as a Lecturer, Administrator and Financial Advisor to the Vice Chancellor whilst completing his Master Degree. He is an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, a Fellow of the Australian Society of Certified Practicing Accountants, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, a Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Managers and Administrators in Australia, and a Certified Financial Planner in the USA. He is also a Companion of the International Management Centres Association, an adjunct Faculty Member of the University of Action Learning in Boulder, Colorado, USA, an Honorary Associate Professor of University Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Malaysia, and an Academic Advisor with KUKTEM in Kuantan, Malaysia.
Article abstract
Malaysia has embraced communication and information technologies. The creation of the Multimedia Super Corridor has now completed its first phase and is moving on, nurturing a new generation of Malaysians in the use of the latest information technologies. The Super Corridor demands better connectivity. New and innovative communication technologies, both wired and wireless, are bringing the promise of always-available knowledge to both the urban and the rural population. The Internet has become a key factor driving the usage of information technologies.
Full Article
The Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) The MSC is the key to Malaysia’s plans to achieve its vision of being a truly developed nation both socially and economically. The Malaysian government believes that connectivity, and the ability to create, distribute and exploit information and knowledge, are essential to its development plans. Malaysia’s progress cannot rely on its agricultural past. By spurring a knowledge-based economy, Malaysia will be able to accompany and compete with the best in the world. We see the impact of the knowledge revolution around us. The removal of trade boundaries through globalisation now permits the free flow of business and technical knowledge. The ability of modern information technologies to convert this knowledge to a common digital form is also increasing. New technologies in compression, encryption and display are providing more efficient ways to communicate information and knowledge. The digital revolution promises to deliver knowledge in ways never before possible. Malaysia’s national agenda, Vision 2020, sets out Malaysia’s plan to become a fully developed and knowledge-based economy by 2020. This agenda is encapsulated in the Vision 2020 Foreword by the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad: “The plan is to continue to give serious attention to strategies for generating sustained rapid economic growth, as well as ensuring the benefits of economic growth are equitably shared among Malaysians of all ethnic groups and among states as well as the rural and urban population” The government has identified Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as its focus and the Multimedia Super Corridor as the instrument of its strategy in realising this mission. The Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) was created to demonstrate the effectiveness of multimedia in increasing domestic and international productivity, efficiency and competitiveness. The MSC is a 15 km wide, 50 km long corridor that runs from the second tallest building in the world in the centre of Kuala Lumpur southward to one of the largest airports in the world. The MSC is built on the premise that if you create a region, an environment where information sharing and knowledge creation are facilitated and can flourish, it will spur local and world class companies throughout the ICT sector to build their business, research and development units there, and in this way encourage the growth of a knowledge-based ecosystem. The key elements of this environment are the physical infrastructure, the connectivity and communications infrastructure, the cyber laws and policies supporting the creation of innovative knowledge-based products and services, and a thriving high-tech entrepreneurial community. The MSC has recognised the importance of connectivity to information and knowledge. Although its key premise is the creation of knowledge, there needs to be a concentrated effort, from the beginning, to connect everyone who needs it to the knowledge and information the corridor creates. The ability to access information and knowledge anywhere, any time, through a wide variety of devices, is a powerful catalyst of the Malaysian vision. First Step: Encouraging Information Creation and Strategic Use of Knowledge through ICT As part of the MSC roll-out, seven applications have been identified to jump-start the vision of information creation and knowledge sharing. The seven “flagship” applications aim to encourage the usage of information technology and create the right environment to develop both the ICT itself, and the knowledge worker. As new and innovative applications are developed, we expect the need for connectivity between these applications will increase. Conversely, innovations in connectivity will drive the usage of these applications. The evolution of wired and wireless networks brings with it the promise of any time, anywhere access to information and knowledge. Flagships are classified as either “application and developmental”, or “environmental”. The application or developmental flagships aim to encourage the usage and creation of new and innovative information technologies, and include the Multi-purpose Smart Card, e-Government, Tele Health and the Smart School. The environmental flagships that aim to nurture and support the creation of new information technology include e-Business, “Technopreneur” Develop-ment and the R&D Cluster. The Smart School flagship is coping with the global Information Society’s “knowledge-world” demand for new and better ways of learning through connectivity; and the information, the knowledge, it delivers to the country’s future leaders. The government has realised that, in addition to the importance of wealth creation, there is the development of the new “Malaysian” – a knowledge worker, more creative and innovative in his thinking, adept in new technologies, and able to access and manage information to its full potential. Students need information and knowledge presented in a creative, pertinent, manner. Exposure to information technology and the ability to connect in a variety of ways to information and knowledge, will allow students to generate demand for, and add value to, the development of IT and its application in the future. The Multi-Purpose Card gives Malaysia’s urban and rural citizen better access to their personal, financial and health-related information. Today, every Malaysian is issued a smart card. Apart from serving as a compulsory form of identification, these cards can be used as tools to access information, to store personal health data, as a passport and as a driving licence. Smart card technology lets the Multi Purpose Card be used as an ATM card or to pay for innovative services. The government recognises the need to address the digital divide and the problem of access by rural communities to information and knowledge. The Malaysian Multimedia and Communi-cation Commission is actively addressing the issue of connectivity through the following initiatives. The School Net project aims to provide schools throughout the country with computer labs and create a network to connect these schools. The Universal Service Provision Program expects to provide data and voice services to 88 underserved districts in the country. Three states have been earmarked to set up cooperative training labs or cyber cafes that will give rural workers access to the Internet and training in ICT. The MSC, since its start in 1996, has generated 21,200 knowledge worker jobs, according to a 2003 MSC Impact Survey. It has generated total sales of RM5.8 billion – close to US$1.6 billion. The MSC has generated RM4.45 billion, US$1.2 billion, in capital and operating expenses. The MSC has also attracted some of the world’s biggest shared services providers (i.e. DHL, Shell, HSBC Schlumberger, Ericsson, Fujitsu, BMW) to set up their Asia-Pacific and global centres there. Next Step: Connecting to Knowledge Connectivity is defined simply as the measure of access that individuals and businesses have to basic fixed and mobile telephony service, personal computers and the Internet. The degree of connectivity of people to information and knowledge is the key factor that will drive the digital revolution. Technologies to expand the reach of connectivity are also evolving. The wire line networks that span the world are now being complemented by the soon-to-be-ubiquitous reach of cellular and wireless networks. The advent of “2.5 generation” cellular technologies, (GPRS and EDGE), and the forthcoming third-generation (CDMA2000, UMTS) is driving the rapid development of information technology application and services. Wireless technologies are competing with each other. The search for lower cost, driven by cheaper equipment and use of unlicensed spectrums and enhanced capabilities, has given rise to WIFI, WIMax, Zig Bee and Ultra Wide Band. These technologies promise to provide access to both the urban and far-flung rural communities so that information and knowledge can be created or used any time, anywhere. Wireless access is driving the Malaysian economy’s Total Factor Productivity or TFP. TFP is a measure of the additional output generated by new and upgraded technology, and by innovation and superior management techniques. Malaysia is working to achieve a TFP of 43.1 per cent of the GDP. Complementing these technologies is the development of smart mobile devices built with the latest communication technologies. These devices will have rich runtime environments and connect people on the move to information. Such services will further drive the knowledge revolution, through innovative ways of capturing, storing and deriving intelligence from information. The MSC recognises the crucial need to connect its infrastructure to information and knowledge. The MSC has a high-capacity global telecommunication and logistic infrastructure with 2.5 gigabits, upgradeable to 10 gigabits, of digital fiber optic links. These links are connected directly with Japan, US and South East Asia. Malaysia is also connected to the major submarine cable systems such as SMW3, APCN, APCN 2 and several smaller regional systems. The approximate outgoing bandwidth from Malaysia now reaches 27 Gbps. The telecommunication services range from PSTN, ISDN, domestic and international leased circuits, xDSL, to wireless and mobile, GPRS, WIFI, and 3G. The MSC also encourages private networks using Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) satellite communication technology, which makes it possible to easily establish communications in both urban and rural areas. The Internet Drives the Knowledge Revolution The Internet is the key driver of the knowledge revolution and the growing knowledge-based economy. It has had a profound effect on almost every aspect of our lives, our work, and how we live and play. It has changed the way individuals and communities conduct business, entertain, retrieve and leverage knowledge. It has also encouraged innovation of information and communication technologies. In a “real-world” context, the Internet lets health specialists in major centres share diagnostic information with doctors in rural areas, lets students without access to books learn, and lets businesses collaborate and react to changes in their worldwide competition. The Internet has been successful in breaking down the distance barrier, in supporting “technopreneurial” activities, in opening new markets and trade relationships and in improving its self-sufficiency and sustainability. It has enabled social and business innovation and has let old things be done in a new way. The Next Leap of the MSC The next leap in the MSC’s development plans (2003 to 2010) will leverage on the ability to communicate seamlessly, and upon the ability to share and use knowledge effectively. The MSC will seek to extend the corridor between states and, progressively, between countries. It will aim to encourage 250 world-class companies to participate and link 4 to 5 cyber cities around the world. These extensions will permit both local and international companies to leverage the pool of talent and technology being created in the corridor. The extensions will also provide a platform to bring new information and communication technologies to the market. Malaysia will provide the regulatory environment needed through a global framework of cyber laws. Conclusion Connectivity, access to information and knowledge will continue to drive the MSC’s objectives. The MSC aims to create an appropriate environment for innovative information technologies and sharing of knowledge. Such an environment will encourage the drive to develop new, improved, and innovative communication technologies and methodology. The MSC seeks to help Malaysia achieve its vision of being a developed and knowledge-based economy by the year 2020. It nurtures development and investment in information technology and drives the use of new communication technologies to bring the benefits of knowledge equitably to both the urban and rural populations. It has become a powerful tool for both social and economic development in Malaysia.
