By Azhari Karim                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
MALAYSIANS are embracing the Information Age with fervour,                                                                                            
albeit with lots of help from the Government. This includes                                                                                           
setting the national agenda for information technology.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
But it must be remembered that to achieve the objectives of                                                                                           
the Government, the leadership role of private business must                                                                                          
be factored in.                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
It has been long recognised that the whole Malaysian                                                                                                  
experience thus far has been predicated on the close working                                                                                          
relationship between the public and private sectors. The same                                                                                         
is therefore expected in this case.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
The Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) initiative is an                                                                                                  
opportunity to once again put the idea of Malaysia Inc to                                                                                             
work.                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
The Government intends to make the MSC the "national test- bed                                                                                   
for multimedia capability development and indigenous                                                                                                  
participation."                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
The final aim is to "position the MSC as the International                                                                                       
Centre of Excellence for Multimedia," and transform the fabric                                                                                   
of the country to make it receptive to the challenges of the                                                                                          
Information Age and the Digital Economy.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
Business was the first to respond to the need of defining a                                                                                           
realistic time-frame to achieve the set targets of the MSC.                                                                                           
According to government experts, most of the projects are                                                                                             
expected to come on-stream by 2005,10 years after the MSC was                                                                                         
launched in August 1995.                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
Targeted for completion by that year are the following:                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
# People centred - Smart schools for the whole country;                                                                                               
Schools connected to the Internet; Multimedia University;                                                                                             
Basic computer literacy for all; Electronic distance education                                                                                        
for everybody, Learning culture in all sectors; Intelligent                                                                                           
performance support and decision support systems; Business                                                                                            
re-engineering knowledge and tools; Knowledge intensification                                                                                         
skills programmes; On-line information services; Networked                                                                                            
electronic communities; and IT applications through the media.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
# Infrastructure based - Broad band network technology; Mobile                                                                                        
computing technology, Global coverage; Intelligent low-cost                                                                                           
access appliances; Malaysian brand names for products and                                                                                             
services; Culture compatible user interface; Asean Cyberlaw                                                                                           
Institute; Multimedia Convergence Act; International Cyber                                                                                            
Court of Justice; and multimedia funds haven.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
# Applications - Seven MSC flagships, Electronic communities                                                                                          
Electronic libraries; Electronic newspapers; Teleshopping;                                                                                            
Teleconferencing; Multimedia electronic mail; Infotainment and                                                                                        
edutainment content in media; and on-demand educational                                                                                               
services.                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
A second leadership role for business can be seen here. While                                                                                         
the Government is hard at work promoting and selling the idea                                                                                         
both at home and abroad, little is heard from the private                                                                                             
sector.                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
The situation is different with the political parties. The MCA                                                                                        
and DAP have organised seminars on the MSC.  Perhaps the time                                                                                         
has come for the private sector to take the lead.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
In the first instance, business will need to create, as well                                                                                          
as ensure, that a conducive environment exists for the success                                                                                        
of all projects within the set time-frame.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
It has already been pointed out by the Government that there                                                                                          
are certainties and uncertainties in such a massive                                                                                                   
undertaking as the MSC and its related development.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
As the Information Age sets in, we are certain that the                                                                                               
following trends will emerge: technological change will occur                                                                                         
at a rapid pace, the speed of social change driven by                                                                                                 
technology will be intense, the impact of IT and globalisation                                                                                        
upon business will increase, the access to information will be                                                                                        
easier, the knowledge workers in the business world will                                                                                              
multiply, and business will have to deal with the challenge of                                                                                        
innovation and entrepreneurship.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
Business will need to respond to the uncertain elements in the                                                                                        
IT environment as well. These will include the difficulty in                                                                                          
estimating the degree of qualitative change in the evolution                                                                                          
of technology, the inability to assess correctly the impact of                                                                                        
IT upon society, the nature of governance itself in the face                                                                                          
of the IT-related changes, and finally the amount of control                                                                                          
that can be exercised on the technology that will be invented.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
All these may need more than just a plain wait-and-see                                                                                                
attitude. On the Government's part, it has established a                                                                                              
channel by which the responses from the private sector can be                                                                                         
dealt with. This is the body called the National Information                                                                                          
Technology Council (NITC).                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
Among its main tasks are to plan and promote feedback on the                                                                                          
future course of the MSC. The private sector is called upon to                                                                                        
participate actively in the NITC.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
The areas that may require immediate feedback are the                                                                                                 
promotion of the MSC and its flagship polication development                                                                                          
of IT programmes and also the future development of                                                                                                   
applications for the IT industry. Business can also advise the                                                                                        
Government on any of the people-centres of infrastructure                                                                                             
based as e d programmes and projects.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
Finally, business has to work together to define the new                                                                                              
workplace itself. In the years to come, when the Information                                                                                          
Age is in full swing, several new elements such as the primacy                                                                                        
of privacy, ethics, corporate governance, access to                                                                                                   
employment, determination of equity and the social                                                                                                    
responsibility of business will come into prominence.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
The profit motive, while still important as the prime mover                                                                                           
for business growth, will become less significant. What is                                                                                            
most important is for business to realise the benefits of the                                                                                         
digital economy before it peters away.