Central Government Malaysia's Moderniser
By Robin Hicks 13 October 2009
Datuk Normah binti Md Yusof, Director-General of the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit, the country’s lead agency for government modernisation, marks her second year in the job by reviewing progress and outlining her organisation’s future plans.
The Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit, or MAMPU to friends, traces its origins to 1966, nine years after the country’s independence, when it was established to support the professionalisation of the civil service. This longevity has contributed to the organisation’s ability to direct change in higher profile ministries, simply because it has developed a deep pool of experience in ‘getting things done’ in Malaysia’s civil service.
The country’s steady rise up the e-government rankings owes much to MAMPU’s efforts to shunt Malaysia’s government departments into the information age, lending credibility to the agency’s slogan, ‘Bersama Melaksana Transformasi’ (Together we transform). Headquartered in the Prime Minister’s building in the federal administrative centre of Putrajaya, just outside of Kuala Lumpur, and with two regional offices in Sarawak and Sabah, Datuk Normah binti Md Yusof leads a team of 500.
It is a testament to the transparency and openness of Datuk Normah’s team, that she along with her Deputy Director-General Dr Nor Aliah, and a select bunch of her senior management, took the time during Ramadan to reveal their plans to support the country’s drive to build a civil service “of distinction” by 2015.
Which point are we now at in the evolution of e-government in Malaysia? E-government in Malaysia goes back well over a decade. Electronic government (EG) was introduced as one of the earlier seven flagships of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) that was launched in August 1996 by the then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. The idea was to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of government administrative machinery using ICT, which was not seen as merely an enabler for reinventing government, but ultimately to position EG as a benchmark for global government.
What had to happen for the plan to work? The success (or otherwise) of EG depended on a fundamental shift from a bureaucracy-centred government to a citizen-centred one. It was about reinventing the business of government to ensure its services and programmes were more accessible and responsive. EG impacted the whole spectrum of government activities. As such, it brought with it a broad range of issues. The adoption of technology was, I think, the smaller hurdle. Much harder was finding the right line of approach to funding, organisational restructuring, human resource competencies, training, provision of infrastructure, and how to create a conducive legal environment. And of course there was the more onerous task of getting staff to deal with the ensuing change and new ways of working under EG.
Sounds tricky. How did EG get started? The government chose to not only rely on its own expertise. It put together a team of ‘web shapers’, a carefully selected group of the brightest minds from the public and private sector. They were tasked to find new approaches and set new goals for the e-government flagship; to find solutions that would improve internal processes and operations, and to improve service delivery through multifarious channels.
Which projects came first? EG began with five flagship projects, among them the E-Services initiative led by the Road Transport Department, Electronic Procurement (E-Procurement) led by the Ministry of Finance, and the Generic Office Environment (GOE), which we (MAMPU) took the lead on. Others followed. They were chosen from among 80 applications covering the gamut of citizen/business-togovernment, inter-agency and intra-agency services, based on two criteria: feasibility and their level of impact.
What about more recent projects? The most notable is the eKL initiative, which was introduced in May 2007 as an extension of the EG project. It is a new approach to improving service delivery by connecting and integrating agencies in the Klang Valley, which covers Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Selangor and Nilai, where internet penetration is highest.
More services are being made available over the web, at internet kiosks and over the telephone. And government agencies are now better equipped to share information and skills. MAMPU is currently developing three high impact projects: MySMS, MyBayar and the centralised public service web site known as myGovernment Portal.
A number of countries have created space for ‘Chief Information Officers’ within government departments. What has been Malaysia’s approach? As with other countries, Malaysia has put a lot of emphasis on the development of ICT initiatives in government. Undeniably, the role of the CIO is one of the key factors in determining the success of ICT deployment in government agencies at all levels, be it federal or state. The role of the CIO was formalised in the public sector in March 2000 with the issuance of an instruction letter by the Chief Secretary. It obliged all ministries, federal agencies and state agencies to appoint a CIO. The mandate was later extended to statutory bodies.
The strategic direction of ICT for the ministry, federal government agencies, state agencies and statutory bodies are all coordinated by the individual CIOs of their respective agencies. It is the CIO’s responsibility to ensure that the agency’s ICT Strategic Plan is aligned with the Public Sector ICT Strategic Plan.
And how is the role of the CIO defined in Malaysia? The CIO role spans the early stage of implementation through to the post-implementation stage. The CIO is also tasked to monitor the ICT budget, human resource requirements and the overall coordination of programs. At the federal level, the appointment of the Government Chief Information Officer (GCIO) is to give strategic direction for the development of public sector ICT, champion the implementation of ICT and the acculturation of ICT in government. To strengthen the CIO governance structure, the government is thinking of setting up a CIO Panel. The panel would provide a platform to disseminate information and coordinate ICT programs across government agencies. It would be chaired by the GCIO and made up of members representing key government agencies.
Many governments in the region face challenges training and retaining IT talent. What has Malaysia’s experience been grooming a generation of civil servants who are able to effectively manage IT? The launch of the Public Sector ICT Strategic Plan (PSISP) in 2003 by the Chief Secretary to the Government recognised the need to better manage the implementation of ICT projects. The PSISP also highlighted that capacity building is needed for both the technical and nontechnical civil servants to ensure that IT projects are well implemented. The government also saw the need to develop IT skills within the civil service to reduce dependency on services provided by the private sector and to cut public spending. To keep up with the fast changing pace of technology, the government started an initiative to develop the skills of the IT personnel. The Comprehensive Plan for ICT Information Officers provides a training roadmap for ICT personnel at all levels throughout their career in the civil service. Our latest initiative is the IT expertise development program. Eight ICT thrust areas have been identified as the core skills needed in the civil service - among them are information management, information security, strategic planning, system development and network and database management.
IT staff are required to attend specialised training and professional certification courses based on the ICT thrust areas that they have chosen to develop their skills set. Those who meet these requirements are appointed as Public Sector ICT Consultants, who are assigned to the Public Sector ICT Consulting Team, which is under the supervision of MAMPU.
Many services have been launched since 1996. But are these services being used? Many are, certainly. But we see the need to balance demand with supply. Broadband access is increasing rapidly across the county, and by December 2010 we hope internet penetration will have reached 50 per cent. It is now at 26 per cent. Outside KL internet access remains limited. Which is why the eKL initiative does not have a broader scope beyond the capital.
Which services have not gone down so well? There have been occasions when e-services rolled out in rural parts of Malaysia, where online penetration is low, haven’t proved as popular as we would have liked. And we’ve learned of the need to aggressively promote new services to ensure people understand why they need them. Some people, particularly the elderly, have little interest in using the internet despite its advantages. They prefer face to face interaction. They want to see and hear government in human form. Which is perfectly understandable. What is more worrying is that some citizens suspect that the internet is not at all secure, a perception that needs to be changed.
Given that mobile phone penetration is above 100 per cent, far higher than for the internet, do you see Malaysia embracing m-government more in the future? SMS is hugely popular with the younger generation and it is proving an effective way of reaching out to the rural areas, which is still a problem for us. Malaysia has 28 million mobile phone users, which is a penetration rate of 1.1 phones per citizen. This presents an opportunity Malaysia must take to embrace an era of mobile government. A quick-win strategy we implemented was mySMS, a starting platform from which other mobile applications will be launched. It included a single number for citizens to dial – 15888 – to access government services. Since launch in July 2008, mySMS has rolled out almost 1300 services from various government agencies. Two SMS communities have been formed from this project, mySMS and OneJPJ, which has over 35,000 members.
How do you see these services developing in the future? Longer term, we have set a target for the Malaysian government to be fully web mobile-ready by 2015. We have struck a partnership with the major telecommunication service providers and, by 2010, a network will lay the foundation for 20 per cent of government to be mobile web-ready and 20 per cent of government services available via mobile search. We want mobile web services, such as SMS vote-casting, blogging, traffic updates or payment services, to be available on a centralised government portal that is accessible on any mobile device, not only through mySMS 15888, but also through applications that can be easily downloaded. We also want government officers to have easy access to their agency’s databases so that decisions can be made quicker in the field, even in remote parts of the country where the availability of government services is low.
What did you make of the attacks on Malaysian websites by Indonesian hackers on Merdeka (Malaysia’s independence day)? How did you ensure that government services remained available during the attack? We were able to resolve the situation quickly, partly because of the way we are structured. The minute we get an indication that a web site has been hacked, an emergency response team is put into action. MAMPU monitors a number of government web pages, so if a denial-of-service attack hits we are able to restore the service automatically. We also do penetration testing and target hardening for any new government service to ensure it is secure. So far we’ve been fortunate in that we haven’t been on the receiving end of many attacks, which have been uneven in frequency and hard to predict. But we appreciate that even when you’ve reached a certain level of security, a hacker will eventually find a way through. The glut of hacking tools readily available on the internet makes the job of protecting government ICT assets ever more difficult. For this reason, PRISMA, short for Pemantauan Rangkaian ICT Sektor Awam, was established in 2001. It is a centralised ICT security command centre that operates 24-hour ICT security monitoring and support services for government agencies and statutory bodies. I believe this is one of a kindin this region.
We have 500 sensors located at 176 agencies throughout the country. Through the monitoring and analysis of network traffic via these sensors, we are able to detect malicious attacks and take the necessary precautions to alleviate their impact. MAMPU also set up the Government Computer Emergency Response Team (GCERT) in 2001 to provide ICT security incident response for agencies and, as of November 2006, all public sector bodies were required to form their own CERTs to arm them with first-level support. We are now looking to set up a GCERT Simulation Centre to better understand hacking techniques and keep an eye on emerging trends.
What metrics do you have in place to measure the effectiveness of government IT projects? We have an impact study, drafted by a third party, which gives us information on whether or not a project has worked out well based on feedback from the public and government employees. We also conduct polls to test the pulse of the country by distributing questionnaires. This helps us gauge the public mood on service quality overall.
Is it now getting easier to roll out IT initiatives? It is, yes. This is partly thanks to a star rating system we introduced recently. Which is based on how hotels are rated, but rates organisational efficiency. This pushes agencies to see our line of thinking and rise to the challenge of online service delivery. It is not a punitive measure. It is a positive one. We are careful to engage stakeholders. MAMPU-run workshops are a big part of that, as are lectures on why the future is online service delivery. All state agencies are invited to get their buy in, and shown what a new initiative will deliver for them.
How has this approach worked for emerging models of technology provision, such as Cloud Computing? Some functions of Malaysian government services are already cloud-based, and we have been doing plenty of R&D work in the cloud. So this concept is not entirely new to us. But we have been taking a closer look at what else Cloud Computing can do for us over the past year or so. It’s an exciting time. But we would only ever consider moving non-sensitive information into the cloud – data that is common not confidential.
What are MAMPU’s toughest challenges in fulfilling its role as a change-agent in government? One is scale; how to effect change in government processes and personnel across 25 ministries and 720 agencies. We had to put in place a comprehensive plan to not only communicate change, but to instill a mindset shift. Not only in the capital, but nationwide. The e-government flagship projects were also the first to implement digital signature technology, to provide better levels of security in online applications. Being the early adapters posed a lot of technical complications and cost issues.
Government and the network service providers are still learning to cope with the reality of having to manage a nationwide network spanning more than 400 web sites.
How happy are you with the progress that has been made so far? The journey that began in 1996 is far from over. We still need to see a change in mindset that shows a desire to break away from tradition. There is now more inter-agency co-operation, a better sharing culture and collaboration towards achieving common goals. But the need to change, innovate and improve public service delivery is the top-most priority of government.
By Robin Hicks 13 October 2009
Datuk Normah binti Md Yusof, Director-General of the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit, the country’s lead agency for government modernisation, marks her second year in the job by reviewing progress and outlining her organisation’s future plans.
The Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit, or MAMPU to friends, traces its origins to 1966, nine years after the country’s independence, when it was established to support the professionalisation of the civil service. This longevity has contributed to the organisation’s ability to direct change in higher profile ministries, simply because it has developed a deep pool of experience in ‘getting things done’ in Malaysia’s civil service.
The country’s steady rise up the e-government rankings owes much to MAMPU’s efforts to shunt Malaysia’s government departments into the information age, lending credibility to the agency’s slogan, ‘Bersama Melaksana Transformasi’ (Together we transform). Headquartered in the Prime Minister’s building in the federal administrative centre of Putrajaya, just outside of Kuala Lumpur, and with two regional offices in Sarawak and Sabah, Datuk Normah binti Md Yusof leads a team of 500.
It is a testament to the transparency and openness of Datuk Normah’s team, that she along with her Deputy Director-General Dr Nor Aliah, and a select bunch of her senior management, took the time during Ramadan to reveal their plans to support the country’s drive to build a civil service “of distinction” by 2015.
Which point are we now at in the evolution of e-government in Malaysia? E-government in Malaysia goes back well over a decade. Electronic government (EG) was introduced as one of the earlier seven flagships of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) that was launched in August 1996 by the then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. The idea was to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of government administrative machinery using ICT, which was not seen as merely an enabler for reinventing government, but ultimately to position EG as a benchmark for global government.
What had to happen for the plan to work? The success (or otherwise) of EG depended on a fundamental shift from a bureaucracy-centred government to a citizen-centred one. It was about reinventing the business of government to ensure its services and programmes were more accessible and responsive. EG impacted the whole spectrum of government activities. As such, it brought with it a broad range of issues. The adoption of technology was, I think, the smaller hurdle. Much harder was finding the right line of approach to funding, organisational restructuring, human resource competencies, training, provision of infrastructure, and how to create a conducive legal environment. And of course there was the more onerous task of getting staff to deal with the ensuing change and new ways of working under EG.
Sounds tricky. How did EG get started? The government chose to not only rely on its own expertise. It put together a team of ‘web shapers’, a carefully selected group of the brightest minds from the public and private sector. They were tasked to find new approaches and set new goals for the e-government flagship; to find solutions that would improve internal processes and operations, and to improve service delivery through multifarious channels.
Which projects came first? EG began with five flagship projects, among them the E-Services initiative led by the Road Transport Department, Electronic Procurement (E-Procurement) led by the Ministry of Finance, and the Generic Office Environment (GOE), which we (MAMPU) took the lead on. Others followed. They were chosen from among 80 applications covering the gamut of citizen/business-togovernment, inter-agency and intra-agency services, based on two criteria: feasibility and their level of impact.
What about more recent projects? The most notable is the eKL initiative, which was introduced in May 2007 as an extension of the EG project. It is a new approach to improving service delivery by connecting and integrating agencies in the Klang Valley, which covers Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Selangor and Nilai, where internet penetration is highest.
More services are being made available over the web, at internet kiosks and over the telephone. And government agencies are now better equipped to share information and skills. MAMPU is currently developing three high impact projects: MySMS, MyBayar and the centralised public service web site known as myGovernment Portal.
A number of countries have created space for ‘Chief Information Officers’ within government departments. What has been Malaysia’s approach? As with other countries, Malaysia has put a lot of emphasis on the development of ICT initiatives in government. Undeniably, the role of the CIO is one of the key factors in determining the success of ICT deployment in government agencies at all levels, be it federal or state. The role of the CIO was formalised in the public sector in March 2000 with the issuance of an instruction letter by the Chief Secretary. It obliged all ministries, federal agencies and state agencies to appoint a CIO. The mandate was later extended to statutory bodies.
The strategic direction of ICT for the ministry, federal government agencies, state agencies and statutory bodies are all coordinated by the individual CIOs of their respective agencies. It is the CIO’s responsibility to ensure that the agency’s ICT Strategic Plan is aligned with the Public Sector ICT Strategic Plan.
And how is the role of the CIO defined in Malaysia? The CIO role spans the early stage of implementation through to the post-implementation stage. The CIO is also tasked to monitor the ICT budget, human resource requirements and the overall coordination of programs. At the federal level, the appointment of the Government Chief Information Officer (GCIO) is to give strategic direction for the development of public sector ICT, champion the implementation of ICT and the acculturation of ICT in government. To strengthen the CIO governance structure, the government is thinking of setting up a CIO Panel. The panel would provide a platform to disseminate information and coordinate ICT programs across government agencies. It would be chaired by the GCIO and made up of members representing key government agencies.
Many governments in the region face challenges training and retaining IT talent. What has Malaysia’s experience been grooming a generation of civil servants who are able to effectively manage IT? The launch of the Public Sector ICT Strategic Plan (PSISP) in 2003 by the Chief Secretary to the Government recognised the need to better manage the implementation of ICT projects. The PSISP also highlighted that capacity building is needed for both the technical and nontechnical civil servants to ensure that IT projects are well implemented. The government also saw the need to develop IT skills within the civil service to reduce dependency on services provided by the private sector and to cut public spending. To keep up with the fast changing pace of technology, the government started an initiative to develop the skills of the IT personnel. The Comprehensive Plan for ICT Information Officers provides a training roadmap for ICT personnel at all levels throughout their career in the civil service. Our latest initiative is the IT expertise development program. Eight ICT thrust areas have been identified as the core skills needed in the civil service - among them are information management, information security, strategic planning, system development and network and database management.
IT staff are required to attend specialised training and professional certification courses based on the ICT thrust areas that they have chosen to develop their skills set. Those who meet these requirements are appointed as Public Sector ICT Consultants, who are assigned to the Public Sector ICT Consulting Team, which is under the supervision of MAMPU.
Many services have been launched since 1996. But are these services being used? Many are, certainly. But we see the need to balance demand with supply. Broadband access is increasing rapidly across the county, and by December 2010 we hope internet penetration will have reached 50 per cent. It is now at 26 per cent. Outside KL internet access remains limited. Which is why the eKL initiative does not have a broader scope beyond the capital.
Which services have not gone down so well? There have been occasions when e-services rolled out in rural parts of Malaysia, where online penetration is low, haven’t proved as popular as we would have liked. And we’ve learned of the need to aggressively promote new services to ensure people understand why they need them. Some people, particularly the elderly, have little interest in using the internet despite its advantages. They prefer face to face interaction. They want to see and hear government in human form. Which is perfectly understandable. What is more worrying is that some citizens suspect that the internet is not at all secure, a perception that needs to be changed.
Given that mobile phone penetration is above 100 per cent, far higher than for the internet, do you see Malaysia embracing m-government more in the future? SMS is hugely popular with the younger generation and it is proving an effective way of reaching out to the rural areas, which is still a problem for us. Malaysia has 28 million mobile phone users, which is a penetration rate of 1.1 phones per citizen. This presents an opportunity Malaysia must take to embrace an era of mobile government. A quick-win strategy we implemented was mySMS, a starting platform from which other mobile applications will be launched. It included a single number for citizens to dial – 15888 – to access government services. Since launch in July 2008, mySMS has rolled out almost 1300 services from various government agencies. Two SMS communities have been formed from this project, mySMS and OneJPJ, which has over 35,000 members.
How do you see these services developing in the future? Longer term, we have set a target for the Malaysian government to be fully web mobile-ready by 2015. We have struck a partnership with the major telecommunication service providers and, by 2010, a network will lay the foundation for 20 per cent of government to be mobile web-ready and 20 per cent of government services available via mobile search. We want mobile web services, such as SMS vote-casting, blogging, traffic updates or payment services, to be available on a centralised government portal that is accessible on any mobile device, not only through mySMS 15888, but also through applications that can be easily downloaded. We also want government officers to have easy access to their agency’s databases so that decisions can be made quicker in the field, even in remote parts of the country where the availability of government services is low.
What did you make of the attacks on Malaysian websites by Indonesian hackers on Merdeka (Malaysia’s independence day)? How did you ensure that government services remained available during the attack? We were able to resolve the situation quickly, partly because of the way we are structured. The minute we get an indication that a web site has been hacked, an emergency response team is put into action. MAMPU monitors a number of government web pages, so if a denial-of-service attack hits we are able to restore the service automatically. We also do penetration testing and target hardening for any new government service to ensure it is secure. So far we’ve been fortunate in that we haven’t been on the receiving end of many attacks, which have been uneven in frequency and hard to predict. But we appreciate that even when you’ve reached a certain level of security, a hacker will eventually find a way through. The glut of hacking tools readily available on the internet makes the job of protecting government ICT assets ever more difficult. For this reason, PRISMA, short for Pemantauan Rangkaian ICT Sektor Awam, was established in 2001. It is a centralised ICT security command centre that operates 24-hour ICT security monitoring and support services for government agencies and statutory bodies. I believe this is one of a kindin this region.
We have 500 sensors located at 176 agencies throughout the country. Through the monitoring and analysis of network traffic via these sensors, we are able to detect malicious attacks and take the necessary precautions to alleviate their impact. MAMPU also set up the Government Computer Emergency Response Team (GCERT) in 2001 to provide ICT security incident response for agencies and, as of November 2006, all public sector bodies were required to form their own CERTs to arm them with first-level support. We are now looking to set up a GCERT Simulation Centre to better understand hacking techniques and keep an eye on emerging trends.
What metrics do you have in place to measure the effectiveness of government IT projects? We have an impact study, drafted by a third party, which gives us information on whether or not a project has worked out well based on feedback from the public and government employees. We also conduct polls to test the pulse of the country by distributing questionnaires. This helps us gauge the public mood on service quality overall.
Is it now getting easier to roll out IT initiatives? It is, yes. This is partly thanks to a star rating system we introduced recently. Which is based on how hotels are rated, but rates organisational efficiency. This pushes agencies to see our line of thinking and rise to the challenge of online service delivery. It is not a punitive measure. It is a positive one. We are careful to engage stakeholders. MAMPU-run workshops are a big part of that, as are lectures on why the future is online service delivery. All state agencies are invited to get their buy in, and shown what a new initiative will deliver for them.
How has this approach worked for emerging models of technology provision, such as Cloud Computing? Some functions of Malaysian government services are already cloud-based, and we have been doing plenty of R&D work in the cloud. So this concept is not entirely new to us. But we have been taking a closer look at what else Cloud Computing can do for us over the past year or so. It’s an exciting time. But we would only ever consider moving non-sensitive information into the cloud – data that is common not confidential.
What are MAMPU’s toughest challenges in fulfilling its role as a change-agent in government? One is scale; how to effect change in government processes and personnel across 25 ministries and 720 agencies. We had to put in place a comprehensive plan to not only communicate change, but to instill a mindset shift. Not only in the capital, but nationwide. The e-government flagship projects were also the first to implement digital signature technology, to provide better levels of security in online applications. Being the early adapters posed a lot of technical complications and cost issues.
Government and the network service providers are still learning to cope with the reality of having to manage a nationwide network spanning more than 400 web sites.
How happy are you with the progress that has been made so far? The journey that began in 1996 is far from over. We still need to see a change in mindset that shows a desire to break away from tradition. There is now more inter-agency co-operation, a better sharing culture and collaboration towards achieving common goals. But the need to change, innovate and improve public service delivery is the top-most priority of government.
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