E-Government in Malaysia: Its implementation so far and citizen’s adoption strategies.

The fast development of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) derived the rapid growth in the number of websites as well as the variety of services offered. Various countries, including Malaysia, are implementing electronic government, which generally known as ‘e-government’. Malaysia’s implementation of e-government was initiated by the introduction of Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) in 1996. It was initiated to improve the government operation internally as well as how it delivers services to people of Malaysia. The improved coordination and enforcement would enable government to be more responsive to the needs of its citizens.

The myGovernment Portal (http://www.malaysia.gov.my/EN/Pages/default.aspx) acts as the one-stop source of Malaysian government information and services for the citizens.

The 7 pilot projects of the Electronic Government Flagship Application are as follows:

1. Project Monitoring System (SPP II)

– monitor the lifecycle of country’s national development programs to make effective decisions

2. Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS)

– provide single interface for government employees to perform human resources functions effectively and efficiently.

3. Generic Office Environment (GOE)

– a fully web-based system which enables users to manage their office environment effectively and efficiently.

4. Electronic Procurement (EP)

– a system that allows suppliers to sell gods and services to the Government through the Internet.

5. Electronic Services (E-Services)

– allow public to conduct transactions with government agencies.

6. Electronic Labour Exchange (ELX)

– one-stop-centre for labor market information.

7. E-Syariah

– a case management system that incorporates the processes related to management of cases for the Syariah Courts.

The adoption of E-Government is still not famous among Malaysian. For instance, I seldom access to e- government services. The recent used is where I used is to check my status of Mykad application when I renew my Mykad (Semakan Status Permohonan Mykad) last May. Oh ya! I used the e-government service to check the National Service status through its official portal (http://www.khidmatnegara.gov.my/) in 2006 too. It was the first time I used such a government e-service and it gave me a bad experience as data were not up-to-date and the site is closed for maintenance most of the time.

In order to make better decision and avoid falling behind, government should identify and resolve the different issues that have arisen from the transaction period during which traditional and e-government co-exist.

Following are a few worth reading sources which tell more on e-government flagship application:

1. Electronic Procurement Leading The Way For Connected Government

2. HRMIS: A New Paradigm in Public Service Human Resource Management

3. Govt of Malaysia and Speed Sign Agreement to Undertake E-Government

4. A career fair for today’s choosy job-seekers