Seah Chin Siong, CEO of IDA International, a subsidiary of IDA (Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore), calls it Singapore Inc - a system that took 26 years to be fully integrated into their government.
This perhaps is indicative of the progress of Brunei's own e-Government which began in 2000 with the creation of the `e-Government Strategic Framework For Action 2001 - 2005' and the allocation of $1 billion.
He ascribes their eventual success and efficiency to the ramming of vital processes because they found their government's 'eco-system' to be too congested. He also emphasised the importance of inter-agency collaboration to increase efficiency.
"What initially took years, slowly took months and now days or even a few hours," he said, describing one example: Applying for a business license in Singapore. On the local front, on the other hand, the Deputy Permanent Secretary from the Prime Minister's Office Abdul Mutalib POKSSDP Hj Mohd Yusof highlighted the development of the macro policy perspectives of e-government in Brunei.
"We are moving forward in the e-government policy structure with the establishment of the Civil Service Institution (IPA) and E-Government National Centre (EGNC). This is primarily responsible in the driving initiative we see in Brunei," he said.
A sum of $12 million has been allocated to the monitoring committee for the IT Human Resource (HR), which focuses on planning and career development of IT manpower in the Civil Service.
Earlier this year, they had admitted to a massive lack in IT human resources that hindered progress of the e-Government initiative.
In 2008, there were 480 posts with 20 per cent vacancies for IT personnel working in the Civil Service. By May this year, the percentage has dropped to 10 per cent.
The deputy permanent secretary used the term 'citizen-eccentric' to describe how the e-government should strive to provide optimal utilisation on effective management. "We have seen the progress with the implementation of the new system Sistem Pengangkutan Darat'(SPD or Land Transport System), a new IT system where the user can apply for a new application for vehicle registration, renew their driving and vehicle license," he said.
He also highlighted the major flagship project in the e-Government Strategic Plan 2009 - 2014 with the introduction of the Government Employees Management System (GEMS). "GEMS has given 45,000 employees working with the public service, an integrated human resource management system to facilitate the management of government employees and enhance employees' administration productivity," he said.
Abdul Mutalib hopes that with the implementation of e-government, it will reach its target in the next five years, whereby taking account of the IT HR, good governance, integrations of government agencies and security for all users (public).
Meanwhile, Haslina Taib, the CEO of BAG Networks, believes that achievingthis target is feasible if the practice of 'goodwill' between departments and agencies is enhanced. Referring to the main topic of discussion, she said that one of the ways of identifying or assessing gap is differentiating design from reality.
"The difference between the gap that exists can be defined as where we are now and where the projects wants to get us," she said. Haslina pointed out that the gap is directly correlated with the amount of change that this country wants to make and this can be achieved through "open communication, a focus on outcome on the business function, being realistic in your capacity and capability, and outsourcing as many functions as possible to allow more focus on the government's main tasks."
In an interview with the media, she also revealed their plans to collaborate with local IT companies to augment workforce capacity and skill sets in both the government and private sector.
Neo Boo Sen, BAG'S Head of Business Development said: "Through shared aspirations with the government, we have developed materials and ideas for them. When we realised that (developments in IT) are going to happen soon, we thought we could ship in (foreign resources) but that wouldn't be a sustainable model because the local IT industry needs to grow."
He also revealed that they have begun to identify local IT companies to form a formal alliance and partnership with, and by means of staff rotation, they will be able to train each other's staff. The forum was held at the Empire Hotel and Country Club and was attended by over 200 participants from the government and private sectors as well as industry leaders and experts in the field of technology.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Aziz Idris and Narissa Noor
Quelle/Source: Brunei Direct, 16.10.2009
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