Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : TAPAK CYBERJAYA, BUKIT DAMAR,
SEPANG, SELANGOR
Tarikh/Date : 17/05/97
Tajuk/Title : MAJLIS PECAH TANAH DAN PELANCARAN
RASMI CYBERJAYA
1. Terlebih dahulu saya ucapkan terima kasih kepada
Multimedia Development Corporation kerana menjemput saya
untuk melancarkan bandar cyber bagi Koridor Raya
Multimedia Malaysia (MSC), iaitu Cyberjaya pada hari ini.
Sesungguhnya pelancaran Cyberjaya ini adalah satu
lambaran sejarah bagi MSC kerana pada hari ini kita
mengambil satu langkah ke hadapan yang besar ke arah
merealisasikan visi kita untuk mendirikan bandar bistari
ini. Kita kini sedang berdiri di atas tapak bandar siber
yang akan didirikan, bandar yang akan membawa kita ke
generasi akan datang dan selepasnya.
2. The concept behind this model intelligent city as a
core component of the MSC was not conceptualised
overnight. It took years of contemplation, research and
planning to come up with a strategic master plan on how
we can achieve Vision 2020. Much research was done to
study the core ingredients needed and the right recipe
for what we envisage to be the real multimedia hub for
the world. What we have planned for Cyberjaya is not just
a place where companies involved in information and
multimedia technology can operate in, but one in which
creativity and innovation can thrive. The establishment
of the MSC, and Cyberjaya in particular, will enable
Malaysians to leapfrog into the Information Age. We hope
to create the ideal environment that will attract world-
class companies to use it as a regional multicultural
information age hub. Our long-term objective is to
catalyse the development of a highly competitive cluster
of Malaysian multimedia and IT companies that will
eventually become world-class.
3. Occupying an area of approximately 7,000 hectares
when fully completed, Cyberjaya is expected to support
a target population of 240,000 people in a first-of-its-
kind information age working and living environment. As
an intelligent city, Cyberjaya will be equipped with
advanced IT and telecommunications infrastructure to meet
the business, residential and recreational needs of the
residents within the development, including some 10,000
knowledge workers who are expected to live in the area.
It will be served by state-of-the-art telecommunications
network with a capacity of 2.5 to 10 Gigabits per second,
to be installed by Telekom Malaysia, which will enable
high speed transmissions of voice, video and data between
companies in Cyberjaya and the rest of the world. This
world-class infrastructure will be able to support
multimedia Flagship Applications, interactive multimedia
services, advanced telephony and data services, as well
as mobile communications services.
4. Apart from an excellent physical infrastructure
comprising, among others, convenient and efficient
transportation and multimedia and business facilities,
Cyberjaya will also be supported by a package of `soft
infrastructure' in the form of policies, practices,
competitive financial incentives and a new set of
Cyberlaws to create an environment which is fully
conducive towards accelerating the growth of multimedia
industries.
5. Another unique and compelling feature of Cyberjaya
is that it would be developed based on symbiotic harmony
between man, the environment and technology. This is
based on the fundamental belief that technology will
serve to provide a better quality of life for man within
the environment, and this technology will be both user-
friendly and environment-friendly. In developing
Cyberjaya, every care will be taken to maximise the
assets of the natural environment. The developers will
also ensure that a suitable environment is created for
promoting spiritual, mental and physical health and the
enjoyment of nature and cultural pursuits. Amidst all
these is an overriding objective to create a working and
living environment where knowledge workers and other
residents may interact freely in a relaxed social
environment, thereby creating an environment conducive to
promoting creativity and innovation, similar to that
which prevails in the silicon Valley of the U.S.
6. The launch of Cyberjaya today could not have been
more timely as the world celebrates the World
Telecommunications Day, commemorating the founding of the
International Telecommunications Union some 132 years
ago. Our own telecommunications industry has certainly
come a long way since the privatisation of Telekom
Malaysia and the rationalisation of the industry. Today,
there are seven network operators providing basic or
fixed network services, out of which five are offering
international gateway services, as well as seven cellular
service operators. All of these operators are offering,
in some form or another, digital technologies based on
advanced network infrastructures. Currently, there are
around 3.8 million fixed line customers and 1.8 million
mobile phone users in Malaysia. Our penetration rates
are very high by world standards and are growing at a
rapid pace. Mobile telephony penetration, for instance,
stands at 9 percent, even higher than that of Japan's
when mobile telephony was initially introduced in that
country.
7. There has been much talk that the lines of
demarcation between the telecommunications, computing and
broadcasting industries are fast disappearing. This
cannot be closer to reality as the MSC begins to take
shape. A high capacity network, such as the one being
developed by Telekom Malaysia within the MSC, will enable
simultaneous transmissions of data, voice and video at
very high speeds. That is why we are now working on the
Multimedia Convergence Act which is primarily aimed at
addressing the overlap which is brought about by this
development.
8. The backbone network which will be established in
the MSC and in Cyberjaya in particular, will act as the
main pipeline through which multimedia services can be
tapped. This, however, does not mean that there will be
no opportunities for others. There will be plenty of
room to provide content and value-added services. I
would like to take this opportunity to call upon local
companies to look into strategic alliances and
collaborations with global companies to explore this wide
area of content development, especially to meet the needs
of the Asia Pacific communities, whose cultural and
social value systems may differ from those of the West.
9. The establishment of the MSC, of which cyberjaya is
the nucleus, is a step towards embracing the future. It
is intended to facilitate our transition from an
industrial-based economy to an Information Age multimedia
economy, helping to keep us competitive in the global
economy. But this does not mean that other industries
will take a back seat. Information and multimedia
technology should never be an end in itself. Effectively
used, it acts as a valuable input, and in many cases, a
catalyst for many other industries. Advances in
multimedia technology will lead to new applications,
spurring the growth of trade and commerce, as well as the
growth of productivity and efficiency in all the sectors.
There are numerous opportunities and spin-off benefits,
the impact of which will be felt for many generations
ahead. All it takes is for us to open our minds to the
wide-ranging possibilities and opportunities.
10. It was not too long ago that I was being briefed on
the initial concepts of the Cyberjaya development. Now,
I have been made to understand that the urban planning
and basic network design have already been completed by
Cyberview Holdings, the newly-established consortium that
will undertake physical development of this project on a
fast-track basis. Other aspects of the developmental
planning, such as the refinement of the Cyberjaya Master
Plan, the environmental impact study and land acquisition
for the flagship development area, are already being
completed or are nearing completion. To date, a total of
seven specific sites have been identified for the
location of some of the pioneering projects to be located
in the Flagship Zone, the hub of Cyberjaya which covers
approximately 2,800 hectares. By late 1998, phase one,
comprising a 750-hectare development, will be completed,
while the remaining areas will be developed in stages up
to the year 2005.
11. I am especially pleased to note that to date, a
total of 39 companies, both local and foreign, have
already committed to locating their operations in
Cyberjaya, as signified by the large balloons that you
can see all around you, taking a claim on the plots of
land on which to site their cybercity operations. I
would like to congratulate these pioneering companies for
taking that bold step forward into the future. Based on
the high level of interest generated and positive
feedback received over the past few months, I am
confident that many other companies will soon follow this
lead. I believe we have a compelling proposition for you
to come and share our vision to build the perfect
multimedia hub through a mutually-beneficial
relationship. We also invite you to use our strategic
position to tap into the Asia Pacific cultures and
marketplace.
12. The progress of this fast-track project is by no
means surprising. When we first announced our intentions
to build the MSC, there were a few sceptics who have
chosen to focus on the fact that this area was primarily
covered in rubber and palm trees, thereby questioning our
ability to complete the project within the timeframe that
we have set for its development. But we need not worry
about such remarks. Our solid track record speaks for
itself. Time and time again, we have shown that our
commitment and perseverance have led to the fruition and
eventually the success of, many major projects for our
country, bringing forth many spin-off benefits to our
people. Our national car projects, the KLCC development
and the Petronas twin towers, the North-South Highway,
our state-of-the-art motor cycle plant in Gurun, are only
a few examples of our successful fast-track projects.
The building of our new international airport, which will
be operational for the Commonwealth Games next year, will
be yet another examples, not forgetting the development
of the MSC, which includes both Cyberjaya and Putrajaya.
13. Since its launch last year, we have sought many
potential companies to explain our plans to build this
Multimedia Super Corridor and the attractive physical and
soft infrastructures which accompany it. The response
that we have received so far has been, to say the least,
overwhelming. As you may be aware, an International
Advisory Panel comprising top level executives from some
of the world's most innovative and successful companies
involved in IT and multimedia, has been established and
its first meeting successfully held in January this year.
There have also been successful promotional missions to
the U.S., Japan and India in the first quarter of this
year, led by MDC. Another promotional visit, this time
to meet potential investors in Europe, is planned for the
20th of this month.
14. In terms of the seven flagship applications, various
agencies from the government and private sectors, both
local and international, have been actively involved in
the development of the concepts and implementation plans.
They are now at various stages of implementation planning
and are expected to roll out the pilot projects from July
this year onwards.
15. Saya ingin mengambil kesempatan di sini untuk
mengucapkan tahniah kepada syarikat-syarikat yang telah
memberi komitmen mereka kepada pembangunan Cyberjaya.
Saya harap mereka tidak akan membuang masa tetapi
sebaliknya mengambil langkah segera untuk mendirikan
operasi mereka di sini. Saya mempunyai penuh keyakinan
bahawa Cyberjaya akan bangun sebagai sebuah bandar
bistari yang kita impikan dan akan menjadi inspirasi
kepada orang lain. Saya ucapkan selamat maju jaya kepada
Cyber Holdings dalam membangunkan projek ini.
16. Dengan kata-kata ini saya dengan sukacita merasmikan
pelancaran Cyberjaya.
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