Message from
Datuk Badlisham Ghazali

CEO, Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC)

Celebrating A Decade of Excellence in ICT

This year marks the 10th year anniversary of the annual MSC Malaysia Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) Awards.  It is encouraging to note that the Awards have grown from strength to strength since it was first introduced in 2000 as part of the Multimedia Super Corridor’s initiative to recognise creativity and excellence in ICT.

Over the years, the MSC Malaysia APICTA Awards have become the benchmark for Malaysian ICT products and solutions.  It is also an avenue to recognise those who have contributed towards the development of MSC Malaysia or have built applications and services, which have benefited the nation.

Equally important, the Awards also serve as a stepping stone for our ICT companies to become global players.

I am heartened to learn that a record number of 383 nominees are vying for the 18 categories that are being contested. This is the highest number of nominations submitted in the past nine years.  The winners and merit winners will be celebrated tonight at the Awards ceremony at the Putra World Trade Centre.

The MSC Malaysia APICTA Awards is jointly organized by the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), the driver of MSC Malaysia initiative, and the Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry of Malaysia (PIKOM). The nominees consist of MSC Malaysia Status and non-MSC Malaysia status companies as well as institutions of higher learning, secondary and primary schools. As an added bonus, the best of the winners will walk away with the prestigious Prime Minister’s Best of the Best Award.

I am proud to note that the competition has enabled many companies to gain greater success that goes beyond regional accomplishment to reach a global scale. An example of this are two of last year’s MSC Malaysia APICTA Awards recipients, Sarawak Information Systems Sdn Bhd (SAINS) – who became a winner and Les’ Copaque Production Sdn Bhd – who received a special regional mention, at the United Nations’ World Summit Award (WSA) 2009, held in Monterrey, Mexico recently.

These achievements by our local companies show that our country is capable of producing world-class products, solutions and services.

I hope to see more MSC Malaysia companies working hand-in-hand towards realising Government initiatives with regards to ICT, such as tackling low IT penetration areas of agriculture. I would also like to call on previous MSC Malaysia APICTA winners and mature MSC Malaysia companies to come forward to offer experiential learning to young, fledgling companies in terms of business models.  With this sharing of knowledge and experience, we would see even more improvement in the field of ICT in Malaysia.

On behalf of MDeC, I would like to take this opportunity to convey my gratitude to the all the sponsors, who contributed a total sum of RM1.8 million in cash and kind. These sponsorships have certainly added further prestige to the competition.  Our sincere thanks also go out to the judges, who spent their precious time to evaluate the nominees and select the winners.

Last but not least, congratulations to all winners and merit winners! We wish you all the best and success at the international APICTA and may you return with much wisdom and high spirits to achieve even more.