E-Government in Malaysia: Its implementation so far and citizen's adoption strategies

In 1997, the Malaysian Government launched the Electronic Government initiative, generally known as e-Government, to reinvent itself to lead the country into the Information Age. As far as Malaysia is concerned, the implementation of e-government was initiated with the introduction of the Multimedia Super Corridor(MSC) in 1996. The implementation of e-Government in Malaysia heralds the beginning of a journey of reinventing the government by transforming the way it operates, modernizing and enhancing its service delivery. This would enable the government to be more responsive to the needs of its citizens. E-government is one of the seven flagship applications introduced in MSC. The objectives of these flagship applications are to jump start and accelerate the growth of MSC, to enhance national competitiveness; to creation of high value jobs and export growth, to help reduce digital divide, and to make MSC a regional hub and test bed. Under the e-government flagship, seven main projects were identified to be the core of the e-government applications.

The e-Government projects are:
1. Electronic Procurement (EP),
2. Project Monitoring System (PMS),
3. Electronic Services Delivery(eServices),
4. Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS),
5. Generic Office Environment (GOE),
6. E-Syariah and Electronic Labour Exchange (ELX).

Besides these seven main projects under e-government flagships, several government
agencies has taken initiatives to introduced online services for the public projects,
aims to increase the ease and efficiency of public service to the people. Among others
were Public Services Portal (myGovernment), e-Tanah, e-Consent, e-Filing, e-Local
Government (e-PBT), e-Kehakiman, Custom Information System (SMK), Pensions
Online Workflow Environment (POWER), and Training Information System (e-SILA).

IMPLEMENTATION STATUS OF E-GOVERNMENT PROJECTS IN
MALAYSIA

1. Electronic Procurement (eP) Project
The electronic procurement system, better known as ePerolehan, streamlines government procurement activities and improves the quality of service it provides. ePerolehan converts traditional procurement processes in the Government machinery to electronic procurement on the Internet and can be accessed at www.eperolehan.com.my.

2. Project Monitoring System (PMS II)
Project Monitoring System (PMS) is led by the Implementation and Co-ordination Unit (ICU) as one of the e-government projects that create a mechanism to monitor project implementation throughout various government agencies and statutory bodies i.e. from project application to approval to implementation, mid-term review and completion.
PMS would also provide a platform for exchanging ideas and demonstrating best
practices in project implementation. The PMS is designed to provide a mechanism for
monitoring the implementation of government projects.

3. Electronic Services Directory (eServices)
The next e-government project is Electronic Services Delivery (eServices). This
project is a pilot project that allows citizens of Malaysia to engage in transactions with government and utilities payments such as telephone and electricity bill, police summons, Road and Transport Department (RTD) services, etc. The eServices is accessed via multi channel service delivery such as the internet, interactive voice response (IVR) and 66 kiosk machines.

4. Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS)
The introduction of Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS) as an e-government project will provide a single interface for government employees to perform human resource functions effectively and efficiently. The objective of HRMIS is not just for record keeping but also to provide transactional functions such as leave applications, loan processing, competency management, recruitment, and selection of employees.

5. Generic Office Environment (GOE)
The aim of Generic Office Environment (GOE) is to introduce a fully Integrated, distributed and scalable office environment that leverages use of multimedia information technology This will enable efficient communication, allowing collaboration across all workers, and ensuring right information reaching the right people in a timely manner.

6. Electronic Labour Exchange (ELX)
The main objective of Electronic Labour Exchange (ELX) is to improve the mobilization of human resources and optimize work force utilization through systematic matching of job seekers to job vacancies. As such, this would enable the Ministry of Human Resources (MOHR) to be a one-stop centre for labour market information that will be accessible to the public.

7. E-Syariah
The main objective of implementing E-Syariah is to improve the quality of service in Syariah courts. This will eventually enhance the Islamic Affairs Department's effectiveness through better monitoring and co-ordination of its agencies and thus improve the management of its 102 Syariah courts.

The National Archives (NAM) Response to eGovernment (EG)
The introduction of EG indicates the volume of electronic records created or will be created in Malaysia, thus leaving an impact on recordkeeping particularly electronic records. As government agencies or public offices are involved with electronic records, the NAM reacted in positive and proactively manner to the new challenges it has to face after EG implementation.

For Example:
1. Electronic Records and Information Technology Management (PRETM)
2. The National Archives Act 2003
3. e-SPARK Project

By:
Teng Yann Guan 0701652

Review of Dell.com.my

When it comes to online computer retail in Malaysia, without hesitation, the first choice of mine will be http://www.dell.com.my/.

In the 1980s Dell became a pioneer in the “configure to order” approach to manufacturing – delivering individual PCs configured to customer specifications. In contrast, most PC manufacturers in those times delivered large orders to intermediaries on a quarterly basis.

To minimize the delay between purchase and delivery, Dell has a general policy of manufacturing its products close to its customers. This also allows for implementing a just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing approach, which minimizes inventory costs.

Technical support

Dell routes technical support queries according to component-type and to the level of support purchased. Dell Inc brands its service agreements at five levels for their business customers.

1. Basic support provides business-hours telephone support and next business-day on-site support.
2. Silver support provides 24×7 telephone support and 4-hour on-site support after telephone-based troubleshooting.
3. Gold support provides additional benefits over and above Silver support, including: customer-declared severity; priority access to support; expedited escalation of support; 4-hour on-site support in parallel with telephone-support.
4. Platinum Plus support provides additional benefits to Gold Support, including: performance benchmarking; real-time tracking; custom planning and reporting; a dedicated technical account-manager.
5. 2-hour on-site support, offered in some cities: mostly limited to major metropolitan areas.

Service Tags

Dell associates a Service Tag, a unique alpha-numeric identifier, with most of its products, which resembles a serial number. The Service Tag number, represented in base 36, has a length of five or seven characters. Software can read the Service Tag in a computer's DMI table. Monitors bought as part of a computer system get support via the Service Tag of the computer. Monitors bought separately get support via the Dell Order Number or via the monitor's serial number.

Dell links its Service Tags to Express Service Codes, usually found together with the service tag on a sticker physically attached to a system. Computer-owners can usually find this tag on the bottom of laptops; or on the side or on the back of the computer tower of desktops. The Express Service Code, a purely numerical conversion of the service tag, serves for use in Dell's trunkline for routing a customer to the appropriate phone-technician. Dell's technical support for consumers requires the customer to enter in their Express Service Code into their touch-tone phone and if they do not provide it when prompted customers will experience increased hold-time before reaching a support-representative.

DellConnect

The DellConnect program, a remote-access tool, gives technicians within Dell Support the ability to access customer computers from a remote location for troubleshooting purposes. By using this tool, support technicians can analyze the configuration of a computer system, view and edit its files and software environment, view and comment on the screen, or take control of the computer system (with the customer's approval) to carry out troubleshooting.

By:

Chua Sin Yee 0701651

Corporate Blogging: A new marketing communication tool for companies

A corporate weblog is published and used by an organization to reach its organizational goals. The advantage of blogs is that posts and comments are easy to reach and follow due to centralized hosting and generally structured conversation threads. Currently, all major browsers (including Firefox, Opera, Safari and Internet Explorer 7) support RSS technology, which enables readers to easily read recent posts without actually visiting the blog, which is very useful for low-volume blogs.

Although there are many different types of corporate blogs, most can be categorized as either external or internal.

Types of Corporate Blogs

Internal Blogs

An internal blog, generally accessed through the corporation's Intranet, is a weblog that any employee can view. Many blogs are also communal, allowing anyone to post to them. The informal nature of blogs may encourage:

• employee participation
• free discussion of issues
• collective intelligence
• direct communication between various layers of an organization
• a sense of community
  

Internal blogs may be used in lieu of meetings and e-mail discussions, and can be especially useful when the people involved are in different locations, or have conflicting schedules. Blogs may also allow individuals who otherwise would not have been aware of or invited to participate in a discussion to contribute their expertise.

External Blogs

An external blog is a publicly available weblog where company employees, teams, or spokespersons share their views. It is often used to announce new products and services (or the end of old products), to explain and clarify policies, or to react on public criticism on certain issues. It also allows a window to the company culture and is often treated more informally than traditional press releases, though a corporate blog often tries to accomplish similar goals as press releases do. In some corporate blogs, all posts go through a review before they're posted. Some corporate blogs, but not all, allow comments to be made to the posts.

Certain corporate blogs have a very high number of subscribers. The official Google Blog is currently in the Technorati top 50 listing among all blogs worldwide.

The business blog can provide additional value by adding a level of credibility that is often unobtainable from a standard corporate site. The informality and increased timeliness of information posted to blogs assists with increasing transparency and accessibility in the corporate image. Business blogs can interact with a target market on a more personal level while building link credibility that can ultimately be tied back to the corporate site.

CEO Blogs

Although there are debates on whether CEOs should blog or not, blogging among CEOs is becoming popular.

Popularity
Whether external or internal, blogs are not new to the corporate world. More than 12% of the Fortune 500 companies blog externally.

Market research done in the first half of 2006 indicated that 34% of large companies had established weblogs. Another 35% planned to do so by the end of 2006, thus bringing the total to nearly 70%.

By:

Lim Hooi Ting 0701396

Things to take note to prevent e-auction fraud when a consumer participating in an e-auction

Auction is market mechanism by which buyers make bids and sellers place offers. It is characterized by the competitive and dynamic nature by which the final price is reached. Auctions can rapidly disposal of items that needs liquidation or a quick sale, they offer trading opportunities for both buyers and sellers that are not available in conventional channels and they ensure cautious execution of contracts. The most popular type of auctions is an electronic auction (e-auctions) which means auctions conducted online.

The largest Internet auctioneer is eBay which has introduced several measures in an effort to reduce fraud. Following are action to prevent e-auction fraud:

1. User identity verification such in IC number, driver’s license number or date of birth. For example, verified eBay user, the voluntary program, encourages users to supply eBay with information for online verification.

2. Authentication service. It is to determine whether an item is genuine and described appropriately. It difficult to perform because their training and experience, experts can detect counterfeits based on subtle detail.

3. Grading services which is a way to determine the physical condition of an item, such as ‘poor quality’ or ‘mint condition’. Different item have different grading systems. For example, trading cards are graded from A1 to F1, while coins are graded from poor to perfect uncirculated.

4. Feedback forum. It allows buyers and sellers to build up their online trading reputations. It provides user with ability to comment on their experiences with other.

5. Insurance policy. For example, eBay offers insurance underwritten, users are covered up to $200, will with a $25 deductible. The program is provided at no cost to eBay user.

6. Escrow services. Both buyers and sellers in a deal are protected with an independent third party. Buyer mails the payment to escrow services which verifies the payment and alerts the seller when everything checks out. An example of a provider of online escrow services s i-Escrow.

7. Non-payment punishment. To protect sellers, a friendly warning for first-time nonpayment. A sterner warning is for second-time offense, with a 30 day suspension for a third offense and an indefinite suspension for a fourth offense.

8. Appraisal services which use a variety of methods to appraise items. It includes expert assessment of authenticity and condition, and reviewing what comparable items have sold for in the marketplace in recent months.

9. Item verification which is a way of confirm he identity and evaluate the condition of an item. Third parties will evaluate and identify an item through a variety of means. For example, some collectors have their item “DNA tagged” for identification purpose. It provides a way of tracking an item if it charges ownership in future.

10. Physical inspection. It can eliminate many problems especially for collectors’ item.

Besides, there are some other concerns to prevent e-auction fraud,

• Be aware of phishing. Verify that you are receiving emails from the correct source and that you are logging in at the correct website.
• When making payment, prefer using your credit card over online transfer. Using a credit card give you the opportunity of a chargeback in case the transaction turns out a fraud. Use debit card, wire transfer, or money order only when you completely trust the seller.
• NEVER make a deal with a seller outside the auction. Although they sound lucrative, you are at a very high risk of being cheated.
• Become familiar with the auction website. Look into the websites protection policies. Never assume you are protected from auction fraud.
• Before placing a bid, learn as much as you can about the seller. If you can’t find anything out about the seller, than avoid doing business with them. Never fall for promises of better deals by moving away from the original auction website.
• If the seller wants you to use an escrow service you’ve never heard of, look into it.
• Never ever give out your social security number, drivers’ license number, credit card number, or bank account information until you have thoroughly checked out the seller and the escrow service.
• Always save 100% of the transaction information. You’ll be glad you did in the event your case makes it to court.
• If after the sale you feel the item/payment should have been delivered already, try to work it out with the seller/buyer.

By:
Wong Zheng Hwa 0701815

The application of prepaid cash card for consumers

Undoubtedly, prepaid cash card has become one of the most important payment methods in this era. For example, the MasterCard prepaid cash card is a popular payment option in the United States and Canada. Prepaid cash card uses not only for payment usage but also make you hard to get credit in order to control your finances.

A prepaid cash card is a plastic card which provides an alternative payment method to cash when making purchases. Before using, consumers will need to preload their prepaid cash card with different ways such as by direct transfer from a bank account, or by paying in cash at a nominated outlet. Therefore, the prepaid cash card is accepted in most of the ways that a normal card be. Nowadays, there are a lot of bank offering the prepaid card, such as, Eon Bank, Public Bank, Am Bank and others. However, prepaid cash card is also divided into Visa prepaid and MasterCard prepaid.

The Visa’s prepaid cash card offers a secure, cost-effective, and convenient alternative to paying by checks or cash. These products enable many consumers to access their pre-funded pool of funds to make everyday purchases, pay bills, and even receive direct deposits with a Visa prepaid cash card. However, the MasterCard Prepaid card gives consumers the added flexibility of loading an amount of money with up to a preset limit into an account associated with the card. The cardholder then uses their MasterCard Prepaid card to make purchases or cash withdrawals at an ATM. Those purchases and cash withdrawals are deducted from the account balance. As the balance is spent, the cardholder can reload additional funds on to their card.

There are several benefits in using it which bring convenience to the consumers. The cardholders can use Visa prepaid cash cards to securely pay for groceries, fuel, and even utility or household bills. Prepaid cash cards can also be used for making payments on the phone or line, and, in some cases, withdrawing cash at ATMs. Moreover, it’s also a safety for the cardholder. Cardholders can make purchases or get cash whey they need it, rather than carrying large sums of cash. Finally, it’s also has provided a protection to the cardholder, while the cardholder can replaced if lost or stolen and carries the same liability against unauthorized purchases as other Visa cards.

Following are some popular prepaid cash cards:

NexG PrePaid MasterCard

NexG prepaid MasterCard is the product of prepaid cash card of Am Bank in Malaysia. It can be obtained in all 7-Eleven shops in Klang Valley. Consumer who wants to get it just needs to sign his name on reverse of the card and submit registration form in the Starter Pack, along with a photocopy of NRIC. The starter pack is RM25. The monthly fee is RM3 per month, which will be deducted automatically.

Touch ‘n Go card

Touch ‘n Go card is an electronic purse that can be used at all highways in Malaysia, major public transports in Klang Valley, selected parking sites and theme park. Touch ‘n Go uses contactless smartcard technology. Users can reload the card at toll plazas, train stations, Automated Teller Machines, Cash Deposit Machines, Petrol kiosks and at authorised third party outlets. Reload denomination is ranging from RM20 to RM500.

PB UTAR Debit MasterCard

PB Utar Debit MasterCard is one of the products of prepaid cash cards of Public Bank in Malaysia which is just applicable for UTAR students. The card is a free for life card with no terms and conditions. Users can enjoy 1 TAR point for every ringgit charged to the card which can be used for redemption of reward.

By:

Wong Zheng Hwa 0701815

Mobile payment systems in Malaysia: Its potentials and consumers’ adoption strategies

Mobile payment is new and rapidly-adopting alternative payment method, especially in Asia and Europe. Instead of paying with cash, check or credit cards, a consumer can use a mobile phone to pay for wide range of services and digital or hard goods. There are four primary models for mobile payments which are premium SMS based transactional payments, Direct Mobile Billing, mobile web payments and contactless NFC.

Cash payments in Malaysia still account for a large portion of the number of transactions in the economy. Going forward it is expected that its use will level off and stabilise with the increased use of electronic means of payments. Credit cards, ATM cards, debit cards including the e-purse application embedded in the MyKad are among the card payments possibilities in Malaysia. The increased use of cards is an international trend and is expected to gain significance in Malaysia. Giro transfers, other credit transfers and direct debit are also gaining significance by both individuals and businesses. Finally, Internet banking has also begun to experience stronger growth.

Mobile payment systems own a good potential in Malaysia and it can be seen below. Bank Negara Malaysia sees tremendous promise in mobile telecommunication networks as an electronic payment channel since mobile phones are already in the hands of most Malaysians, with 88% of the Malaysian population subscribing to mobile phone services. With 25 million mobile phone subscribers in Malaysia, there are immense opportunities to leverage on mobile phones to accelerate the migration to electronic payments, to widen the reach and appeal of electronic payment services, to deliver innovative mobile payment products that offer speed, simplicity and convenience at minimal cost for the public, as well as to provide an efficient and cost-effective method of delivering financial services even in the remote areas. Also of significance is the high level of financial inclusion in Malaysia. With a population of 27 million, the banking system in Malaysia has 55 million deposit accounts indicating that a high percentage of the population has deposit accounts with the banking system. This is confirmed by a survey of a sample of 5,000 in 2003 that indicated 97% of those surveyed have a bank account. There are now only 460,000 subscribers for mobile banking and payment services. This represents only 1.8% of the 25 million mobile phone subscribers in the country. There is, therefore, a significant untapped and potentially lucrative market for mobile payment and banking services.

Following are some examples of mobile payment systems:

Mobile money wallet


Mobile Money is a PIN-based Mobile Payment Solution designed by Mobile Money International Sdn Bhd to address the limitations and bottlenecks created by cash, cheques and credit cards. It unlocks the power of the mobile phone to make payments, allowing registered users to pay for goods and services at anytime, anywhere using only a mobile phone coupled with a 6-digit security PIN via SMS. This gives the freedom to shoppers to buy products online and pay the merchant using his/her mobile phone without being physically present at the store. In order to pay using Mobile Money, a shopper must have a savings, current or credit card account with participating banks. The shopper will be billed by the bank accordingly by month's end. In addition, it functions as a Debit Card if it is tied to shopper's savings or current account. The amount will be deducated instantly from the account upon successful transaction.

TeleMoney


TeleMoney is an innovative mobile payments service that enables the use of the mobile phone as an identification and authentication device for making convenient and secure payments. TeleMoney can be used over multiple channels including Internet, mobile and proximity (over-the-counter) and it supports multiple payment choices.


By:

Teng Yann Guan 0701652

E-Currency Exchange: The Perfect Home Based Business

Many people looking into a home based business or additional income stream may be new to the idea of e-currency exchange. It is not something that is generally well publicised or read about in home business magazines. However e-currency trading has experienced a rapid growth over the last two years, with more people becoming involved and increasing profits being made for those who choose to invest.

E-Currency exchange was established 3 years ago, when investment companies allowed their users to open up portfolios to watch their capital grow. Since then, many people have made thousands of dollars by orientating their business ventures around this objective.

The idea works by temporarily making funds available to a global financial network through a number of recognized, reputable electronic currencies such as Paypal, E-Gold and E-Bullion. When transactions take place online, using electronic currencies, the user is charged a commission fee, which is typically around 5%. As a reward for your investment you are able to share in a proportionate amount of the profits generated from this financial network.

As an e-currency trader, you are acting as a middle-man. The concept I find most straightforward to explain this notion is to envisage the position of a stockbroker. The stockbroker will always get paid as long as shares are being bought and sold, regardless of whether the price of the shares goes up or down. He acts as the middle-man between buyers and sellers. So as long as transactions continue online, there will always be the opportunity to make money.

It is very similar to having a bank account and gaining interest based on the money you have in there. The most advantageous connection between the two is the fact that your investment never actually physically goes anywhere. It is just used as a bargaining chip by the companies who trade in electronic currencies.

A home business in e-currency exchange is by no means a 'get rich quick' scheme. Programs that offer you these kind of opportunities are rarely genuine. Willingness to learn is a crucial part of making this trade work. However this can be easily overcome with a little training. There are some excellent resources out there that will take you step by step through all the ins and outs of this business so you are able to effectively manage your portfolio and master all the terminology.

The amount of risk involved in a business venture like this forms the basis of one of the most frequently asked questions. I can tell you that anything you do to try and leverage and improve your lifestyle involves some kind of risk, however, when you look further into the e-currency industry and make enquiries of the investment companies used, it will become apparent that there are very sophisticated methods undertaken to reduce any risk for their customers to an absolute minimum. I would still recommend, along with any sensible investor, to never invest more than you can potentially afford to lose.

To any potential investor, the best and most crucial piece of advice is to find the right training program. Programs with phone and email support are absolutely essential as are training updates, which will keep you up to date with any changes to the industry.

By:
Chua Sin Yee 0701651