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Malaysia's dream of being an IT
powerhouse
By Tony Sitathan
It has been almost five years since the idea of
a Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) was mooted and later
championed by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
The idea was to transform Malaysia from an agricultural
and rural-based economy to that of a high-tech
manufacturing, highly computerized and industrialized
nation.
Mahathir's obsession to succeed was
partially driven by the proximity of Singapore as a
neighbor and sparring partner. Malaysia has been at
loggerheads with Singapore ever since it decided to
build its own information-technology infrastructure and
IT and administrative capital - Cyberjaya and Putrajaya
- and transform the oil-palm and rubber plantations that
were within the 15-by-50-kilometer boundary of the MSC
project into an IT powerhouse.
Malaysia has
managed to create enough hype and publicity to draw some
strategic investments away from Singapore, said Andrew
Taylor, a consultant with Axiom Consulting, a strategic
risk analysis firm based in Hong Kong. "But in reality
when you examine what the MSC really stands for, many in
the industry are still not convinced Malaysia could be
the IT powerhouse of Asia, since some of its key
initiatives are still so weak and lack an overall
clarity."
After five years of planning and
developing the MSC concept, there have not been any of
the earth-shattering innovations or discoveries promised
by Mahathir. "People expected real products and
innovative solutions to be launched by the MSC, not
fireworks and fanfare," said Steven Tan, a disillusioned
patron of the MSC. He was so convinced of the MSC idea
that he uprooted himself from Singapore and brought his
family and two children to Malaysia. He applied to be a
Malaysian permanent resident as well as getting his
company qualified as an MSC-status company. But Tan's
dreams were dashed when the promised grants did not
materialize and the IT project that was supposed to be
kicked off never really was.
Tan was not the
only one disillusioned with the MSC. Larger companies
such as Oracle, Microsoft and Intel were not too sure
what the MSC had done for Malaysia and its people.
Although they are part of the steering committee members
of the International Advisory Panel, many of them were
noncommittal when asked what the MSC really meant to
them and their direct contributions to the MSC. But
according to a spokesperson from one of the
multinational corporations, the MSC has been a clarion
call for the Malaysian government to bolster foreign
direct investment and also to enable technology transfer
and improve its skilled-knowledge worker base.
According to the MSC charter, it was supposed to
target seven multimedia applications for development by
2000. These flagship applications are in the areas of
electronic government, telemedicine, smart schools, a
multipurpose card, research and development clusters,
worldwide manufacturing webs and borderless marketing
centers. How many of these breakthrough applications
were actually rolled out before its deadline?
Only recently have MSC flagship applications
such as MyKad, Smart Schools, Telehealth and Electronic
Government been rolled out, while about 2 million
government multipurpose cards have been issued to Klang
Valley residents, said Dr Halim Shafie, the secretary
general of the Energy, Communications and Multimedia
Ministry. A national rollout is targeted for next year.
Shafie said that the smart school portal Bestarinet had
been launched and the 90-odd smart school pilot projects
are already equipped with technology infrastructure. The
government has already started programs to promote smart
communities such as Subang Jaya 2005 and E-Bario in
Sarawak, he said.
According to Mahathir, the MSC
is on schedule and has been a self-fulfilling prophecy
for him. "There are now 745 MSC-status companies. The
number of local companies granted MSC status stands at
495 and the MSC has attracted 53 world-class companies,"
he said. Mahathir said Malaysia is not short of talents
to work at the MSC, which has been able to move into
such new investment areas as biotechnology.
However, the crown jewel to date has been
Malaysia's ability to draw DHL to set up its office in
Malaysia. DHL relocated its Asia-Pacific Information
Service center to a new RM200 million (US$52.6 million)
facility in Cyberjaya. It's located at the IOI Puchong
area as the regional IT hub for DHL's operations in
Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.
Stephen
McGuckin, DHL's chief information officer, said DHL
considered numerous countries before deciding where to
locate its Asia-Pacific IT hub. "We looked at a host of
countries, namely Singapore, the Philippines, Hong Kong
and India. But we chose Malaysia and the Multimedia
Super Corridor," he said. DHL also benefits from MSC's
special incentives, which include its Bill of
Guarantees, a commitment to the introduction of
cyberlaws and a host of other related perks.
The
MSC has also been successful drawing international
companies to set up call centers. Two international
companies have relocated their call centers within the
MSC.
The MSC still has until 2005 to bear
tangible fruits. According to experts in the industry,
Malaysia is still a long way from achieving its primary
goal of being a multimedia supercorridor to Asia. "It
will take some tweaking of its major direction and
platform before it achieves its target. And achieving
its targets are measured in terms of ultimate success to
Malaysia and its way of life, and it's no easy task,"
said Taylor.
(©2002 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd.
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