E-government is aimed to complement existing service channels, not replace them, said Datuk Abdul Aziz Hussein, State Secretary of Sarawak, in an address to civil servants. The talk came against a backdrop of a slew of new government technology projetcs in neighbouring Brunei Darussalam. A key Sarawak initiative will be to introduce 'universal service counters' - government service points that are capable of delivering all services, irrespective of the department responsible.
"Full e-government status does not mean that we will abandon the office counter. The counters will provide all major government services in a single location," said Aziz.
The state authorities have mandated all 26 local authorities to provide their services online by next year. Currently seven of these have implemented the 'Electronic Local Authorities' programme.
Aziz said the universal service counters would cater to people who do not have access to online channels as well as those who prefer counter services to virtual services.
Quelle: Public Sector Technology & Management, 14.03.2005
