IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Malaysia plans to offer every adult in the country a free Web-based e-mail account to ensure that tax returns, court documents and other official notices reach the population of 28.3 million.

The government has named Tricubes Berhad, a local smartcard reader and authentication software vendor, as the operator of the service. Starting from July, the company will begin setting up a email account for citizens over 18, with a goal of total coverage by 2015, company officials said.

The eP system has modernised the government-to-business procurement landscape, since its launch in 1999. Earlier this month, the portal reached RM60 billion (US $18.5 billion) with over 1.5 million transactions since its inception.

According to Information, Communications and Culture Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim, at present there are only about 1,400 WiFi villages in the country and are mostly found in Perlis, Sabah, and Sarawak.

“We are in the process of building electronic towers in Sabah and Sarawak, therefore our big enrolment drive to create Malaysia as an internet community is there now,” he said.

Covering all 96 entry points, this security effort is meant to register and monitor foreigners from their arrival until departure, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

In parliament, Yassin explained that foreigners will have their thumbprints taken and processed within 20 seconds upon arrival at the immigration check-point.

Touted to be the first-of-its-kind “Bio-Visa” to be introduced in the world, those who do not comply with the Immigration Department's proposed Biometric-Visa will be slapped with a “Not to Land” (NTL) notice and turned back.

Election Commission chairman Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said he hoped this would finally lay to rest all sorts of allegations.

Phantom votes are found when the number of votes reported is higher than the number of ballots cast.

EC Chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said the commission would first have to scrutinize the system before the implementation.

“Although the system was capable of detecting multiple voting and ensuring transparency, it needed to be scrutinised before being implemented because it would be very costly,” Abdul Aziz said in a statement.

e-Plat will be using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, an electronic device that uses radio waves to speed up the transmission of communication data for the purpose of identifying, locating and sensing the conditions of objects.

Speaking to the press at the 3rd Annual IT Governance Conference, Datuk Seri Lim Keng Yaik, minister of Energy, Water and Communications, lamented the limited coverage of broadband, especially in the rural regions.

Malaysia and China will sign a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) to enhance smart city and smart home capabilities.

Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming said that during his recent visit to Beijing, he met with China’s Housing and Urban-Rural Development Minister Ni Hong.

The event is held in conjunction with the state's hosting of the Multimedia Super Corridor International Advisory Panel (MSC-IAP) meeting.

The 'e-Homestay' programme is a tourism concept characterised for travellers to stay or live in local homes, said Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon.

With data traffic increasing by 51% per year, profit focus has shifted from infrastructure to content and service providers and the Govern­ment has outlined 10 entry point projects that cater to increasing demand for services.

The ETP Report outlined 10 entry point projects (EPP) that are estimated to rake in RM35.7bil for the gross national income (GNI) in 2020 and create 43,163 jobs.

State Secretary Datuk Amar Abdul Aziz Husain said a full EG status would be indicated by the availability of all government services through virtual means

Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said currently, Malaysia stood on the threshold of achieving 30 per cent household broadband penetration based on a six million household data base.

E-government in Malaysia goes back more than a decade. Electronic Government, or EG, was introduced as one of the earlier seven flagships of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) that was launched in August 1996.

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Tuesday launched identification cards for security guards as part of efforts to upgrade the quality of their service and enhance the status of the security services industry in the country.

The benefits of having such a facility for the people and the nation are expected to be worth many times that amount.

High-speed access to the Internet will provide a boost to telehealth facilities, Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor said yesterday.

He said once the system had been implemented, foreign workers would be tracked via a database and have their thumbprints recorded to prevent them from abusing their visas and ensure that they were in the country legally.

“One of our concerns is that foreign workers who arrive here with a legal working permit end up overstaying after it expires. We hope to have the system in place by October,” he said after launching the “30-hour Famine Countdown 2010” to aid the poor at Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil here yesterday.