Oleh/By		:	DATO' SERI DR. 
			MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD 
Tempat/Venue 	: 	TECHNOLOGY PARK MALAYSIA, 
			KUALA LUMPUR 
Tarikh/Date 	: 	01/11/99 
Tajuk/Title  	: 	THE OFFICIAL VISIT TO MIMOS 


      
  At  events  like  this, I usually begin  by  saying  how
  honoured  I  am  to have been invited. This  morning  is
  going to be a little different.
  
  2.    You see, MIMOS and I go back a long, long way.  So
  long  in  fact  that  I  was  actually  present  at  its
  conception.  And  given  that kind  of  relationship,  I
  fully  expect  to be invited to happy occasions such  as
  this one.
  
  3.    My  involvement with MIMOS began  in  August  1984
  when  a young academic came to see me about creating  an
  R&D institute in microelectronics.
  
  4.    Back  in  those  days, the  Malaysian  electronics
  industry  was  as Malaysian as¬Disneyland.  Although  it
  was  physically  located  in Malaysia,  Malaysians  were
   just  the  "kaki tangan", the arms and legs required  to
  churn   out   those  foreign  products.  Much   to   our
  irritation,  Malaysian employees were not  even  allowed
  to  create simple software. Everything had to come  from
  overseas.
  
  5.    The  solution was for Malaysia to conduct her  own
  research  into  microelectronics. The  technology  would
  then  belong to us, and no one would be able to tell  us
  what  we could or couldn't do. For the very first  time,
  Malaysia   would   design  and   manufacture   its   own
  microprocessors.
  
  6.    The  rest, as they say, is history. Although  with
  an  organisation like MIMOS, perhaps I should  also  say
  that the best was yet to come.
  
  7.    Fifteen years later, we are gathered to  celebrate
  MIMOS'  third  anniversary as a corporate body.  And  of
  course  this  is also a wonderful opportunity  to  thank
  the  various organisations that have helped to make this
  early example of "Malaysia Boleh" a success.
   
  8.    Without the support of various Government agencies
  MIMOS  would never have survived - let alone thrived.  I
  would  like  to  thank  colleagues  and  officials   for
  seeing  the potential in MIMOS and Malaysia, and working
  so  hard to realise both.  The Minister of Finance  then
  agreed  to  allocate five million ringgit -  a  princely
  sum indeed.
  
  9.    The  private sector too has been immensely helpful
  -  so  much  so  that many of the National IT  Council's
  programmes  could not have succeeded without your  help.
  Thank you for your vote of confidence. I sincerely  hope
  you  will continue to give MIMOS the financial and moral
  support  it needs to give all Malaysians access  to  the
  benefits   of    Information  Communication   Technology
  (ICT).
  
  10.   Finally,  I  must thank a very  special  group  of
  public  and  private sector individuals: MIMOS  Berhad's
  Board  of  Directors.  Thank  you  for  introducing  the
  systems  and  processes that this  ex-Government  agency
   lacked.   Your   contributions  will  continue   to   be
  essential  in  ensuring MIMOS' credibility and,  indeed,
  efficiency as a corporation.
  
  11.   Going  back to the future, I would like  to  spend
  some  time  considering MIMOS' value to the  nation.  We
  are,  after all, fully entitled to do so. Fifteen  years
  ago,  I  played the role of venture capitalist on behalf
  of  the  Malaysian Government. And all of  us  here  are
  stakeholders in this institution by virtue of the  taxes
  that  end  up  with  the Ministry of  Finance  -  MIMOS'
  shareholder.
  
  12.   Right  from the beginning, MIMOS demonstrated  its
  prescience  by  identifying  the  most  significant  ICT
  trends.   More importantly, this young organisation  had
  the  confidence to act on its foresight. There  was,  so
  I've  been  told, no "sihir' involved, no crystal  ball.
  Nevertheless MIMOS seemed to "get it" and get it right.
  
  13.   Take  the Internet for example. In the 1980s,  the
  Internet was still a geek's gizmo. However the geeks  at
   MIMOS  decided  it was going to be big,  very  big,  and
  immediately  set  about  creating  RangKom,   an   early
  manifestation of JARING.
  
  14.   Of course they were right. But to those of us back
  in  the  dark ages of ICT, they must have appeared  like
  Noah  of old, building his ark in defiance of so  called
  common  sense. Today, the Internet has over 196  million
  subscribers  and  the  figure is growing  exponentially.
  The  flood has arrived and thanks to MIMOS, Malaysia  is
  equipped to navigate these uncharted waters.
  
  15.   But  MIMOS isn't just about geeks with a gift  for
  fortune  telling.  It's also about the  ability  to  see
  beyond  the  technology  to  the  people  who  will   be
  affected by it.
  
  16.   In  the  early  90s, MIMOS was asked  to  lead  IT
  policy  development through the National IT  Council  or
  NITC.  Before  long,  your CEO was  back  in  my  office
  asking me to chair the council. I must admit I was  most
  unwilling:  I was already chairing more committees  than
   I  cared  to remember.  Actually I was scared to display
  my ignorance of the subject.
  
  17.   But  he  was not easily deterred. After explaining
  that  ICT was going to transform society as we knew  it,
  he  concluded with a challenge no patriot could  resist:
  "If  you  really  want  to see this transformation  take
  place  in  the  way we envision our future  development,
  then you are the only person who can chair the NITC."
  
  18.   What  could  I do but agree. With trepidation  but
  instantly.   Leading  Malaysia into the  e-world  wasn't
  something  that  came naturally to  me.  I  knew  little
  about  ICT:  even less than I'm supposed to  know  about
  economics and finance.
  
  
  19.   However,  I have always believed that  anyone  can
  learn   new  tricks.  In  fact,  according  to   certain
  quarters, I'm now rather an expert in these matters.  If
  you  need  proof,  just consider this:  I  have  already
  introduced  my own terminology to this dynamic  field  -
   the  word "de-confuse". It's a very useful term  to  use
  when  dealing  with geeks. You can use it  to  interrupt
  lengthy  explanations,  as  in "Please  de-confuse  me."
  Or  if  that doesn't work, you can always try,  "I asked
  you to de-confuse me but I'm still confused."
  
  20.   In  the  mid 90s it became evident  that  Malaysia
  would   not   achieve   Vision  2020   by   relying   on
  industrialisation. We had to find a different route.
  
  21.   The answer to our dilemma was ICT, but ICT in what
  form?   Most  people  assumed that Malaysia  would  just
  follow   the   leaders.     But   in   this   warp-speed
  environment,  the  leaders don't have all  the  answers.
  They don't even have all the questions.
  
  22.   The  second option was to bury our  heads  in  the
  sand  and hope that all this bothersome technology would
  somehow disappear.
  
  23.   With  the  help  of MIMOS and  other  consultants,
  Malaysia  did  it her way. To almost universal  acclaim,
   we  created  this huge experiment called the  Multimedia
  Super  Corridor  or MSC. Today the MSC is  on  track  to
  become  the  best incubator in the planet for  high-tech
  businesses;  a  special  greenfield  environment   where
  companies  from  all  over the world  will  be  able  to
  collaborate  in  new ways and reap the rich  rewards  of
  the Information Age.
  
  24.   Of  course  the recent economic  crisis  gave  our
  critics  the  opportunity to wet blanket our enthusiasm.
  But  I  have  always welcomed criticism from  unfriendly
  quarters:  I  take it as a sign that  I  must  be  doing
  something  right.  Indeed,  if  you  think  through  the
  issues,  the MSC is the only way forward for  a  country
  such  as  ours.  Countries  that  drag  their  feet   in
  developing the new information highways will  also  tend
  to become backwaters of economic activity.
  
  25.   I  mention MIMOS' involvement with the MSC  for  a
  reason.  As  the Government's highest-level  ICT  think-
   tank,    MIMOS   often   works   behind   the    scenes,
  accomplishing  its  mandate  quietly  but   effectively.
  Publicity  per  se  is  not on  MIMOS'  agenda.  Helping
  Malaysia be the best she can through ICT, is.
  
  26.   Many  people think that MIMOS isn't interested  in
  profit.  That  is nonsense. MIMOS is vitally  interested
  in  profit  -  but not for itself.  As a  mission-driven
  R&D  institution, MIMOS' mandate embraces  nothing  less
  than  the  "profitability"  of  an  entire  nation:  the
  achievement  of  Vision  2020  through  the  social  and
  economic opportunities of ICT.
  
  27.   The  question  then is "Is MIMOS  succeeding?"   I
  believe  the  answer is "Yes". Today,  experts  tell  me
  that  the  MSC has put Malaysia on course for a tripling
  of  our  GDP  by  2020. I won't be around  to  see  this
  happen. But I sincerely hope that MIMOS will.
  
  
  28.   In  Malaysia,  we believe in ensuring  access  and
  equity  for all. We also believe that  technology  makes
   a   wretched  master  but  an  excellent  tool.  It   is
  important  that  we  use ICT wisely,  according  to  our
  values  and  culture. And the only way  to  ensure  both
  access   and  appropriateness  is  to  take  charge   of
  technology development ourselves.
  
  29.   Take the continued Western domination of the media
  for  example.  We could have resigned ourselves  to  the
  fact  that  "kancils" don't stand a ghost  of  a  chance
  against  the "gajahs" of this world. We could have  just
  ignored them and gone our own way.
  
  30.   The  other option, of course, would have  been  to
  fight  it  out.  I  don't believe in running  away  from
  fights  -  but  I am a little choosy when  it  comes  to
  picking  my  opponents.  There  is  wisdom  in  avoiding
  wrestling with pigs: the pig enjoys it and you both  get
  filthy.
  
  31.   However with the advent of JARING, Malaysians  are
  now  explaining  Malaysia  to  the  world.  By  enabling
  access  and  equity,  we have also  given  Malaysia  her
   voice - the voice of her citizens.
  
  32.   In  today's  knowledge economy,  R&D  is  crucial.
  Organisations  like  MIMOS,  which  exist   to   develop
  technologies  that  benefit  all  Malaysians,  must   be
  supported.
  
  33.   This  kind  of state intervention is  anathema  to
  many.  But as the progress of  ICT has shown, the state,
  not  the innovative entrepreneur in his garage, was  the
  initiator of the Information Technology Revolution.  How
  else  but  by  state  intervention,  can  we  expect  to
  accelerate  technological modernisation and  change  the
  fate of our economy in just a few years?
  
  34.   Right now, the culmination of Vision 2020 is  less
  than  20  years away. Through organisations like  MIMOS,
  the  Multimedia Development Corporation, and the support
  of  all Malaysians, we will transform ourselves into  an
  informed  society, totally equipped to enjoy  a  quality
  of   life   our  grandparents  could  never  even   have
  imagined.
  
   35.    The  Government  will   therefore  continue    to
  support  MIMOS.   Not  because  MIMOS  needs  help,  but
  because Malaysia does.
  
  36.   In  return for that support, I would like  to  see
  MIMOS  and the MDC working together to help a brave  new
  breed    of   entrepreneurs:   the   cyberpreneurs    or
  netrepreneurs.   Think   of  MIMOS   as   our   Starship
  Enterprise,   the   flagship  of  a   fleet   of   cyber
  businesses.  The  flag it carries is nothing  less  than
  the  national  consciousness for the  knowledge  society
  and knowledge-based industries.
  
  37.   But more than that, this mother ship will actively
  encourage  these fragile cybercraft. It will  share  its
  expertise,  thereby giving cyberpreneurs the  confidence
  to  go  where no businessman or woman has gone.  And  it
  will  always  be on standby to help its fleet  establish
  new colonies in cyberspace.
  
  38.   In  the  1400s  Leonardo da Vinci  imagined  -  as
  sketches  in his notebook - aeroplanes, helicopters  and
   parachutes.  But as we all know, it took  centuries  for
  these  conceptions to become products.   In  da  Vinci's
  time the gulf between the probable and the possible  was
  just too vast.
  
  
  39.   Now  all  that has changed. Today's  21st  century
  cyberpreneur  is limited only by his imagination.  Until
  quite  recently, human beings could only hope to control
  physical  space,  the everyday world of  atoms.  At  the
  dawn  of  the  new millennium, our span  of  control  is
  almost  limitless.  Using cyberspace -  which  literally
  means  the  virtual space of control - we can track  and
  influence events on the other side of the globe.
  
  40.   In  the  new  knowledge economy  or  K-economy,  a
  person  who relies only on the physical space of control
  will  be  as handicapped as a man with only one leg.  To
  run with the best, you need to use both dimensions.
  
  41.   MIMOS is here to encourage Malaysian Leonardos who
  want  to   make their mark in cyberspace. It is here  to
   help  you  realise your ambitions. It is  here  to  help
  make things happen for you.
  
  42.   As with Starship Enterprise, the idea is to create
  a   self-supporting  system  that  promotes   everyone's
  existence.  As a Government - funded institution,  MIMOS
  is   not   in  the  business  of  competition   but   of
  cooperation.   It   is  here  to  develop   a   web   of
  interdependent,   mutually-  supportive  cyberbusinesses
  working on the frontiers of the K-economy.
  
  43.   I  look to MIMOS to act as the catalyst  for  this
  kind  of  large-scale cooperation. To do this, you  will
  have  to convince others to dream with you so that  your
  vision  of  "a  better  tomorrow"  becomes  a  Malaysian
  reality.
  
  44.  Congratulations MIMOS on your third anniversary  as
  a  corporate entity. May you use your powers  wisely  to
  help  Malaysia  enter the e-world. You  already  have  a
  good  track  record. All we ask is that you continue  to
  amaze us.