IT was quiet and serious. John Naisbitt was speaking on                                                                                               
"Hi-Tech, Hi-Touch" at the Putra World Trade Centre. Then the                                                                                         
phone of one of the front-row participants - very senior                                                                                              
managers - rang.                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
He started talking while walking to the door. A Participant                                                                                           
nearby whispered, "High-Tech, Low Touch."                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
John Naisbitt, the futurist, was visiting Malaysia. His                                                                                               
discussions, based on his book Hi-Tech, Hi- Touch, gave rise                                                                                          
to considerable debate.                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
Naisbitt himself favours a good balance between the two. He                                                                                           
cites possible routes that technology would take and how we                                                                                           
need to keep base with hi-touch to maintain our very being.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
Briefly, Hi-Tech Hi-Touch refers to our relationship with                                                                                             
technology. The definition of technology itself has undergone                                                                                         
considerable changes.                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
In the early days, it was just a thing; now it includes                                                                                               
inter-relationships and consequences.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
High-Tech, of course, would include the electronics industry,                                                                                         
the handphone, the computer, digital optics, bio-technology,                                                                                          
and DNA (designer babies).                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
High-Touch, on the other hand, would refer to our humanness -                                                                                         
matters pertaining to our soul, heart, emotion and feeling.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
We need technology to assist us in our work and play, to keep                                                                                         
our factories and offices efficient and effective, to help us                                                                                         
keep pace with the competition.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
We do not want to be left in the cold in the international                                                                                            
market scene. We would need the latest and most relevant                                                                                              
technology to attract foreign investors and also enable us to                                                                                         
become global.                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
Take the Internet, for example.  It will make the economy more                                                                                        
transparent and exposed by making it easier for buyers and                                                                                            
sellers to compare prices. Warburg Dillon Read, an investment                                                                                         
bank, calls this the "Nude Economy."                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
The Internet also removes the middlemen between firms and                                                                                             
customers, reducing transaction costs.  It also reduces                                                                                               
barriers to entry.                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
Small firms and developing countries will have an opportunity                                                                                         
to take part in the "new" economy.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
It is said that the Internet will Make the "old" economy more                                                                                         
efficient. Goods like CDs, books and stationery bought online                                                                                         
can be 10% cheaper than those bought out of the normal shops.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
Internet offers savings. Lehman Brothers gave an example in                                                                                           
the banking industry: A transfer between bank accounts costs                                                                                          
US$1.27 when a bank teller completes it.  The same activity                                                                                           
done via a cash machine would cost 27 cents, and through the                                                                                          
Internet, only one cent.                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
It is expected that Internet revenue, including e-commerce,                                                                                           
would rise from US$1.3bil (1999) to US- $92bil by the year                                                                                            
2005.                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
The Internet will also make business to business (B2B) via                                                                                            
e-mail much cheaper. It will help reduce procurement costs. It                                                                                        
helps in inventory control, therefore requiring little or zero                                                                                        
inventory.                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
Inventory management will be improved. The savings mentioned                                                                                          
can be as much as 40% in the electronic components industry,                                                                                          
say experts.                                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
As a result, companies like Ford, General Motors and                                                                                                  
Daimler-Chrysler are setting up an electronic market place to                                                                                         
buy components from suppliers through the Net. As a result,                                                                                           
car production could cost a good 14% less.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
Lower transaction costs will allow small firms across                                                                                                 
countries, for example, in Asean, to work together to compete,                                                                                        
at the global level.                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
Emerging economies, the pundits say, can "catch up" with the                                                                                          
richer ones. The easy accessibility of information will help                                                                                          
speed up this process.                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
We must take note that Internet access amongst households is                                                                                          
three times higher in the US than it is in Europe or Japan,                                                                                           
and ten times that in Malaysia.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
The good thing is that the Internet, While it improves                                                                                                
transparency and competition, will attack inefficiencies in                                                                                           
all economies.                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
The long-term winners would be the consumers, who gain from                                                                                           
lower prices - hence, higher real wages.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
The demand for IT skills is ever increasing. Europe would need                                                                                        
at least one million techworkers over the next few years.                                                                                             
Queuing up are Japan, Australia, the Middle East and                                                                                                  
South-East Asia.                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
Wage inflation could be the result if this shortage is not                                                                                            
handled pragmatically. As it is, IT staff are paid 20-40% more                                                                                        
than their counterparts.                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
Says Vikran Khanna: "Projects will simply migrate to places                                                                                           
where there are qualified people who can do the work. You can                                                                                         
lose your competitiveness."                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
If you don't get the big jobs, you'll end up with the                                                                                                 
low-margin worker-bee staff. This, most logically, calls for a                                                                                        
lowering of prejudices.                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
Government and businesses should get the best talent they can,                                                                                        
and not stand too much on restrictions.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
This would call for the breaking of our "narrow thinking." It                                                                                         
also means that we should encourage contrarian views, creative                                                                                        
thinking and the breaking of "set moulds."