Dato’ Dr. Mazlan Yusoff, Director General of the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation And Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) delivered the keynote address at the Malaysia OpenGov Leadership Forum on March 16, on the theme of ‘Riding the Transformation Wave: Digital First, Citizen Focused’. He sketched out the evolution of Malaysia’s digital government and talked about the future of public services, highlighting four key ongoing initiatives at MAMPU.
The journey started in the 1990s, with the government using online channels to provide static information to the people. It was a one-way communication. As eGov progressed from 1.0 to 2.0, the focus shifted to transactions. Citizens started using online services to transact with the government. Now we are moving to eGOV 3.0, where it is about dynamic information and using online services to create opportunities for public participation.
Dato’ Dr. Mazlan said that we are living in times of great uncertainty. New norms are developing around the world. ICT trends in the areas of digital workspace, citizen engagement, open data, digital government platforms and the Internet of Things are fundamentally altering the way we live and work.
In this scenario, citizens are looking to government for solutions and to deal with these new age challenges, a more holistic, creative and multidimensional approach is required.
Dato’ Dr. Mazlan went on to highlight four projects by MAMPU, which are putting the government on the right trajectory.
Public sector initiatives
GAMMA
GAMMA (Gallery of Malaysian Government Mobile Applications) is a good example of how the government is leveraging the high mobile penetration in the country. Surely this will increase demand for various services through mobile technology.
All the different mobile applications created by various agencies, that deal with many issues, are placed onto this one platform. All the apps have official security certification. GAMMA also provides help to government agencies to develop in-house applications to meet their work requirements.
This is in line with the government’s efforts to make it easier for citizens to find and use services.
1MOCC
1 MOCC or the Malaysia One Call Centre is one of the initiatives under the National Blue Ocean strategy. The driving idea behind 1MOCC is that there should be no wrong door to access a government service. So, 1MOCC is a single point of contact centre operating 24 hours a day, seven days in a week to answer any public enquiry, complaint, suggestion and feedback via phone call, short messaging system (SMS), fax, email and social media. Messages are directed to the right agency, so that they can take the required action and report on it. It can be used by citizens as well as non-citizens and businesses.
The SITI@1MOCC (SITI stands for 'I Want To Know Information’) mobile application has also been launched to allow the public to submit their queries or feedback.
Dato’ Dr. Mazlan said that the next step now would be to use data analytics tools all the data captured in 1MOCC to improve services.
GOS gateway
The GOS or Government Online Services Gateway will be a single gateway for all government services. This will require a shift within government departments and agencies from delivering services in silos to a more integrated approach. It is being implemented in four clusters, Business, Education, Health and Welfare.
The GOS Gateway is an integral part of the government’s digital first, citizen focused strategy.
Government Information Exchange Hub
The information exchange hub is being developed and government agencies are invited to put their data on the platform and share it. Data sharing between agencies would be crucial to achieving the vision of integrated service delivery.
Setting ambitious challenges
Malaysia wants to improve its ranking in the Online Services Index (OSI) under the United Nations E-Government Survey to 30 by 2018 and 15 by the year, 2020 from its current ranking of 40 in 2015. Simultaneously, the government is setting itself a target of being in the top 30 in the Open Data Barometer (ODB) by 2020. As of 2015, Malaysia had an ODB rank of 51.
Dato’ Dr. Mazlan reminded the audience that in this process of moving along with disruptive technology, it is important to remember the intangibles, the human aspects.
He concluded saying that there will be struggles and challenges along the way. But there is no alternative. Malaysia must move towards an end-to-end citizen centric, user friendly interface and personalised services. Other countries are also carrying out digital transformation and Malaysia cannot afford to fall behind.
