Strategies

In order to reach the widest spectrum of the populace as possible, it is necessary to expand the coverage of Sabah.Net to all districts and sub-districts. This will include the branch offices of major departments such as Land and Survey, Forestry, Agriculture, and Public Works. This is also in line with the expansion plan as spelled out in the State Public Sector IT Master Plan.

The mission of the State Public Sector IT Master Plan is "to facilitate the reinvention of the government through strategic deployment of information and multimedia technology." Hence, it is vital that the reinventing government programme is well supported and acted upon. Unit Kemajuan IT Negeri (KIT), as the implementer of the State Public Sector IT Master Plan, will play an advisory role in this respect.

The success of the Electronic Government System lies in part to its easy accessibility by the general populace. As such, it is crucial that access points are strategically located throughout the State. This will include kiosks in major shopping centres; PCs in libraries and schools; and Mobile Electronic Government Units in remote areas.

In addition, Government officers must also be well equipped with the necessary tools, such as PCs, printers, scanners, local area networks, etc. for them to provide their services more efficiently and effectively. Such procurements will also include replacing obsolete equipment. Furthermore, new Electronic Government application systems would have to be developed while existing application systems based on obsolete technologies would need to be converted.

In an effort to develop a resilient IT industry in Sabah with strong indigenous R&D capacities, it is necessary to establish a State IT/Multimedia Centre. In addition to serving as the headquarter of the Ministry of Resource and IT Development, the centre will also provide the following:

• R&D facilities
• Incubating facilities
• Training and workshop facilities
• Advance information and communication facilities
• E-commerce facilities
• Exhibition facilities
• Reference/resource and technology transfer facilities

With the rapid pace of technological development, the knowledge acquired by the IT professionals is fast becoming obsolete. As these IT professionals are the key people who will be developing Electronic Government application systems, they must be trained and retrained with the latest technical know-how. In this regards, a continuous training programme must be planned for them and this will involve engaging experts from around the world to impart such technology transfer.

The successful implementation of the Electronic Government System lies also in part to the understanding of the top management of the civil service, especially pertaining to their capabilities in managing the vast array of public information. In addition, these people, including those officers who will also be using the Electronic Government System, must be trained with the necessary knowledge and skills to operate the Electronic Government System.

Sabah has a very open economy relying heavily on the external world for its survival. Establishing strategic alliances with its neighbours and the rest of the world are necessary for its well being and further progress. The same is true in the IT arena. Sabah can develop itself into the IT hub of BIMP-EAGA, acting as the gateway to the rest of the world. In this respect, it is essential for Sabah to establish and maintain close working relationship with neighbouring States and countries. Nevertheless, the viability of such relationships must be carefully studied before Sabah can embark on establishing the relationships.

The institutions of higher learning play a vital role in producing the future manpower with the necessary knowledge and skills. If such manpower can be trained to cater to the needs of the State, it would be less costly to retrain them once they enter the workforce. In this regards, there is a need to work closely with the institutions of higher learning in developing their curriculum.

In addition, since the institutions of higher learning are places where knowledge is created and imparted, it is worthwhile for the State Government to have smart partnerships with them so that more people can be given the opportunity to learn and relearn, probably through an exchange programme. Such a programme may include sending government officers for short courses catered specifically for them, and in return, experienced government officers can be engaged to give lectures. This is done in the hope to create a win-win situation to both parties.

For Sabah to progress in an era where IT plays an important and pivotal role, it is crucial to have a more resilient local IT industry in order for us to face the challenges in the new millennium. The local IT industry must be able to meet the needs and requirements that are becoming more demanding as the general literacy level of the populace increase. It is necessary for the IT industry to constantly enhance their skills and technical know-how so that they can deliver services of the highest quality. In addition, such levels of expertise will also enable the industry to compete in the international arena. In this respect, the State Government can initiate an IT Industry Service Quality Award to encourage the local IT industry to improve itself. Other activities may include competitions in content development.

The content industry is considered as one which Sabah can have some competitive advantages. This is because Sabah possesses certain unique features that the rest of the world does not. Examples of these unique features include our diverse indigenous culture, customs, and biodiversity. With our capability in mastering three main languages of the world, we are able to develop content that can potentially reach half the population of the world. However, since the content industry is barely in its infancy stage, there is a need for the State Government to take a lead role in facilitating its further development.

In view of the above, the following programmes are being considered:

• Web and courseware competition, especially among school children
• IT industry service quality award
• Graphic design competition
• Innovative and creative use of technologies competition
• Essay writing competition
• IT camps
• Indigenous technological innovation and invention
• Indigenous language content development

Electronic commerce is fast changing the rules in which the world of business operates. Not only do the businesses have to reinvent the way they conduct business, the IT industry would have to gear themselves up for the new challenges. At the same time, the State Government needs to nurture aspiring cyber-preneurs by providing the necessary platform for them to partake in the world of e-commerce. As such, the following activities are being considered:

• Conduct a study to determine the viability of developing Kota Kinabalu as the e-commerce hub for BIMP-EAGA
• Initiating electronic procurement by strategic government agencies (to be fall under the reinventing government programme)
• Initiating community-based e-commerce activities

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