90pc of government services to go online by 2015

04 Julai 2012

PUTRAJAYA: The government aims to have 90 per cent of its services online by 2015.

The newly-appointed Chief Secretary to the Government, Datuk Seri Dr Ali Hamsa, said only 35 per cent of the government services were currently available online via the "myGovernment" portal.

This included services for pensioners and senior citizens to access their various benefits online, quit rent payments, renewal of licences, permits and summons payments at local council sites.

It also uses social media -- such as Facebook and Twitter -- in day-to-day activities and operations to enhance productivity, with 242 agencies actively using social media to connect with communities.

He said the country needed to upgrade the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the socio-economic sphere to spur economic growth.

"ICT complements our ongoing development strategies and actions which support the digital transformation, to boost socio-economic growth," he said at the National Digital Conference here yesterday.

The two-day event was launched by minister in the Prime Minister's Department Senator Datuk Seri G. Palanivel.

Ali cited the online One Stop Centre project by the Housing and Local Government Ministry through local authorities nationwide which has seen an improved delivery performance.

A total of 1,957 project development applications were received through this system.

He said the United Nations e-Government Survey 2012 that assessed the technical features of national websites as well as e-government policies and strategies applied by specific sectors, had ranked Malaysia 40th among its 193 member countries.

"More work is needed to integrate the services between agencies. I hope that there will be continuous expansion in the provision and coverage of OSC facilities since it is a front desk service to help the people."

Palanivel said that the implementation and spread of ICT projects must be balanced between urban and rural areas in terms of accessibility and affordability to bridge the divide.

He said the government was committed to modernising systems and regulations in serving the people through the implementation of various initiatives and transformation plans, He said the initiatives included provisions for talent capacity-building and funding of initiatives towards becoming a globally competitive and high-income economy.