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Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD Tempat/Venue : THE NIKKO HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR Tarikh/Date : 26/07/97 Tajuk/Title : THE LAUNCH OF THE CONCEPT REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (CRFPS) FOR MSC FLAGSHIP APPLICATIONS 1. Terlebih dahulu, saya ucapkan terima kasih kepada Multimedia Development Corporation (MDC) kerana menjemput saya untuk melancarkan Konsep Cadangan Permohonan Tender, ataupun `Concept Request For Proposals' (CRFPs) untuk Aplikasi-Aplikasi Perdana bagi Koridor Raya Multimedia. Pelancaran CRFPs ini adalah satu lambaran sejarah bagi MSC kerana Aplikasi-Aplikasi Perdana ini adalah kunci kepada kejayaan MSC. 2. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the task forces, the relevant government agencies involved, and MDC in the successful completion of the Concept Request for Proposals. From the beginning, these initiatives have had the full support and commitment from the highest levels of government and industries, and today is the culmination of the combined efforts over the past several months. 3. Most importantly, I would like to take this opportunity to especially thank all the private companies involved in the task forces -- I believe there were more than 50 -- which have made major contributions in terms of resources, commitment and expertise towards the project on a voluntary basis. This has clearly proven to be a successful collaboration between the government and private sector, and a mutually-enriching experience for all involved. It is remarkable to discover that in the course of formulating the CRFPs, the companies that compete in the marketplace are able to collaborate in search of standards, road maps and high- priority pilot projects for the flagships. 4. With the completion of these CRFPs, we have passed a major hurdle in the development of the Flagship Applications, although we shall face many more as we progress with these groundbreaking initiatives. These challenges and hurdles are, however, very small in comparison to the benefits that will be generated for us all for many generations to come. 5. The 15 CRFPs that we are launching today for pilot projects under the Electronic Government, Multi-Purpose Card, Smart Schools and Telemedicine Flagship Applications are in themselves pioneering initiatives for our country. They must not be perceived merely as documents outlining the requirements for private sector companies to submit their bids for government projects. They are actually representative of the government's new approach for partnering with the private sector. We have worked with the private sector companies to develop CRFPs that provide clarity of the benefits the government seeks, but leaves flexibility for the bidding concortia to innovate solutions. 6. As you will see from the CRFPs, more emphasis is placed on defining the project objectives and desired benefits rather than specifying detailed technical requirements. It also calls for open technology and business model. This approach encourages collaboration among companies and between companies and the government, hopefully, leading to the building of consortia among companies to develop and deliver the best and most comprehensive solutions for the various pilot projects. 7. The MSC offers many opportunities for companies to explore multimedia technologies to their limits. It is by far the most comprehensive Test Bed devised for the purpose of devising and testing the technologies and their applications in the Information Age. 8. To spearhead the development of the MSC and give shape to its environment, we have identified seven primary areas for multimedia applications. These Flagship Applications contain unprecedented and attractive opportunities for local and international business, because of their variety and scope, and the manner in which they are being offered to the global community. Through these Flagship Applications, we extend an open invitation to the multimedia community in Malaysia and throughout the world to participate in the MSC.Companies that take up the offer will be able to create value for themselves in an environment uniquely suited to their needs. While they will help to transform Malaysia and the region they would also be contributing towards their own role in the Information Age. What they learn and test here will obviously help prepare them for the solving of problems which they must face when applying their technologies and expertise worldwide. 9. One of the most important Flagship Applications which we will all be helping to develop is the Electronic Government. There has been much talk on this subject and many initiatives and systems have been mooted and even tried. But the problem will be to choose the best system or combination of systems. Whatever is decided upon and applied in actual administrative procedures will obviously not be final. The development of the Electronic Government will be a continuous process as new ideas and new technologies make current ones out of date. We will have to be prepared for these challenges and be open- minded enough to keep our options and to be ready to accept the new as much as to defend the old and the tried systems and technologies. Again the experience and the results gained here will be invaluable to the participating companies as they promote their systems worldwide. 10. The Multi-Purpose Card Flagship Application is an obvious necessity. Many people throughout the world are in the process of developing it. Many will think they have the perfect solution or system. But Malaysia is perhaps the only country where the Government is willing to participate fully in a project that will not only serve its own needs but those of the private sector as well. As integrated circuits become more powerful the need for information will rise with it. Governments have always required certain documents and information on individuals living within the country. But now every individual needs to do numerous transactions in daily life which needs to be accounted for. From bus fares to million-dollar deals to travelling across countries, transactions have to be recorded. Smart cards simply have to get smarter and smarter. We may think we know everything already about smart cards. But it is amazing how much we can discover when real life trials are carried out. I am sure much will be learnt by everyone from the Multi-Purpose Single Card Flagship Application project. 11. For Smart Schools, companies involved in the Flagship Applications will be given the opportunity to help Malaysia make the critical transition from an industrial economy to a knowledge-based one. This calls for a technologically- literate, thinking workforce which is able to perform well in a global environment and use of Information Age technology to improve productivity. It follows that Smart Schools are not only categorised by the introduction of technology, but more importantly, by their ability to deliver heightened education in a better and more comprehensive way. This represents a compelling and challenging task indeed. 12. Telemedicine is obviously going to contribute towards better medicine for a greater number of people. Today we are already applying it through rapid access to expert consultations in real time. The day will come when complex surgical operations can be carried out from great distances. Already surgeons are looking at TV screens and operating with great precision without actually looking directly at the surgical instruments or the parts they are operating on. And of course the teaching of surgical and other procedures by the great experts can be watched by a larger number of students and doctors worldwide than presently. Everyone must gain through this, the medical profession as well as the patients. 13. The MSC can be developed into a regional hub for Telemedicine services, products and education. The possibilities are enormous and cooperation between the medical profession, the experts in information technology and the great pharmaceutical and medical firms is bound to benefit mankind as a whole. 14. One of the key objectives in using the CRFPs approach is to encourage collaboration and technology transfer involving small and medium Malaysian enterprises. As most of the solutions provided will involve leading-edge technologies from world-class multimedia companies, this represents a significant learning opportunity for local companies involved in the consortia. In fact, one of the selection criteria is to look at a workable and effective model of technology and knowledge transfer between collaborating companies and institutions, big and small; local and foreign. 15. What we hope to encourage, too, are smart and equal partnership where both local and foreign parties will offer value-added input. We also hope that this will help build platforms for on-going innovations which will in turn stimulate the development of new applications of multimedia in both the public and private sectors, with ownership of these pioneer applications attributed to all the parties involved. 16. For Malaysians as a whole, the full impact of these Flagship Applications will not be immediately felt or seen. The pilot projects to be implemented under these applications are part of our long-term plan to achieve our Vision 2020 goals. Studies have shown that with the MSC, we have the potential to increase our per capita GDP by three, or even four times by the year 2020. According to a study conducted by Sumitomo Corporation, the value that will be generated by the Multimedia industry in the MSC to the national economy after the first five years is estimated at US$25 billion. 17. As observed recently by the editors of Forbes magazine in their 80th anniversary report on the impact of the IT revolution in the U.S., `in an economy built on technology, and free from many physical restraints, change goes into overdrive'. They also noted the change over the years in the composition of the Forbes list of the top 100 valuable companies in the U.S. with the advent of what they referred to as the `silicon revolution'. This is what we feel will happen as the multimedia industry grows at an accelerated pace in the country. 18. The Flagship Applications will be instrumental in facilitating through multimedia technologies vast improvements and efficiency in important areas like public administration, education and healthcare. Coupled with focused initiatives on productivity improvements, these technologies have the potential to revolutionise the way government works and interacts with citizens in all walks of life and in the way our children learn and interact with society. We also hope to set standards that will stimulate reverse investments from the MSC consortia. The benefits are clearly far-reaching and cumulative. 19. With the Electronic Government Flagship Application in place, not only will government services be easily accessible to all members of the public but there should also be a marked improvement in service quality and the speed in which they are delivered. To improve access to services, Electronic Government will provide one-stop shopping for Government services through multi-channel delivery options. Services will no longer be provided where the government is, but where the people are. We will begin with the installation of Electronic Government kiosks which will bring these services closer to your home or to your workplace or even your shopping centres. As an example, instead of having to go to government offices and wait in long queues to renew passports, it will be possible to go to a kiosk in a shopping mall or access the service on your home PC. Obviously you will not have to queue before your own PC. Most of the checking will be done by computers, leaving only a few decisions to be made by relevant officers. 20. These are the kind of things which the MSC will engender and introduce to our life in the Information Age. We suspect that there will be many innovations which we cannot even imagine now. Just as the power of the integrated circuit, the microchip was never imagined only 20 years ago, so will the forthcoming innovations and technologies be difficult to foresee today. But they will come, and they will come with a speed that we may find unsettling. So be prepared to be caught unprepared. 21. On that note, I would like to call on all of you to give your support to the development of these Flagship Applications which we believe will give rise to a better quality of life for all Malaysians and others elsewhere. I would also like to take this opportunity to call on both local and international companies with the relevant expertise and technology to form the necessary strategic alliances and pursue the business opportunities provided by these pilot projects. I wish you all the best in creating global showcases for multimedia applications in the Multimedia Super Corridor. 22. Dengan ini, saya dengan sukacitanya melancarkan Konsep Cadangan Permohonan Tender untuk Aplikasi-Aplikasi Perdana bagi Koridor Raya Multimedia. |