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Wednesday, 01 August 2007 |
The Star, 31 July -- The public will now only need their mouse to navigate through government websites to run their daily official needs.
FOR anyone who has ever been to Tokyo, one will not only be in awe of its glitzy neon signs and skyscrapers but the ease by which the entire Japanese population seem to conduct their whole life through the dizzying speed of broadband Internet and their mobile phones.
Need train tickets? Buying these at the train stations is so "last year". Go online instead.
Well, the Malaysian Government may not be that far behind with a new ambitious plan to link its whole array of offices within the Klang Valley in online connectivity.
Unveiling the e-KL – an initiative by the Malaysian Administrative, Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) to virtually reach into every area that may see us come into contact with the Government.
Tying together agencies as diverse as local authorities and the International Trade and Industry Ministry within the Klang Valley, e-KL seeks to provide every service that would have previously required Malaysians to queue at the counters to instead get out of the line and seat themselves in front of their terminals.
From the registration of companies to the payment of outstanding study loans, the public will now only need their mouse to navigate through government websites to run their daily official needs. Certainly beats navigating one's car through Kuala Lumpur's packed highways.
To span four years from hence until 2010, the e-KL project will see an increase in the number of online services from presently over 400 to 5,000 by the end of that period.
For those who are already familiar with utilising the Internet to submit their income tax declarations or download official forms – most of which are currently available on www.gov.my – they will be happy to know that they will one day be able to renew their driving licences online and to pay their assessment.
MAMPU director-general Datuk Normah Md Yusof said the department was also in the process of identifying the services offered by the various government agencies and integrating these.
"By the year 2010, the Government is expected to deliver interactive public services that cut across different agencies, which can be reached any time and anywhere using different paths. e-KL will allow resources to be shared among the agencies through an integrated system of information communication technology (ICT) applications that will enable smooth flow of data and informationand, thus, enhance our service.
"This means that in the future, the public no longer has to access various government websites online to conduct their official business. For instance, a buyer of a foreign car does not have to access the individual websites of Customs Department, the Road Transport Department (RTD) and Puspakom just to get the vehicle registered.
"They just have to go through one website or one portal," she said.
No wrong door
It is for this reason also that the government will require agencies to adopt a "no wrong door" policy, a sure winner for those who are tired of being treated like a "football" and transferred from one office to the next each time they call up a government office.
More than just a policy which will allow access of government services through one website, it means a total revamp of civil servants' attitude in handling members of the public by giving responses and information in a more professional, responsible and efficient way.
"Even if someone has gotten the wrong department or officer, civil servants should at least provide basic information about the department he wanted in the first place and how to get in touch with the right telephone number. The last thing we want to hear is the civil servants saying 'I don't know.' Our customers must be served no matter where they go to conduct their business," she said.
Under e-KL, it won't just be the computers which are going to be linked up. MAMPU – which has been tasked as the lead agency to coordinate the implementation of this project – intends to deliver the Government to the people through multiple channels: wireless technology, WAP services (which enables the access of Internet using handphones), SMSes (short messaging system) and interactive voice response (a technology that enables a computer to detect voice and touch tones via normal telephone calls) in addition to the more traditional counters and faxes.
Normah said that currently, services via SMSes were limited to only 20 types and restricted to checking for police or RTD summonses.
"We hope to increase the number of SMS services to 100 by the end of this year, and to 500 by the time e-KL project is completed," she pointed out.
Taking a cue from its name, e-KL will involve 150 agencies and cover areas within the Klang Valley: the Petaling district in Selangor, Klang, Gombak, Hulu Langat, Kuala Langat, Kuala Selangor, Sepang, including KL International Airport and Cyberjaya, the Federal Territory, and up to Nilai in Negri Sembilan.
It will extend over three cities – Kuala Lumpur, Shah Alam and Petaling Jaya – all of which are already major hubs of industry and commerce, and the government administrative centre Putrajaya, and directly impact the lives of more than 6 million people.
"We choose Klang Valley for this project as it is the business hub for the country," Normah pointed out.
The project is a prong that the department has taken to push Malaysians to fully embrace the country's electronic government concept and take it higher to the next level.
Normah said the successful implementation of e-KL could mean the catapulting of Malaysia into a top 10 ranking in terms of competitiveness as envisaged by the Prime Minister. This is to ensure the country is not left behind in a region that is already seeing many countries like Vietnam and China mushrooming.
"With this project, we will be able to attract more foreign investment," she said. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 18 January 2008 )
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