Friday March 31, 2006

Leaps to close that gap

IN ORDER to bridge the so-called “digital divide,” the Government intends to change the mindset of rural communities towards ICT (information and communications technology) usage.

To achieve this, it will intensify the One Home, One PC initiative by expanding the PC Gemilang and PC Mesti Beli schemes targeted at first-time buyers of computers and the lower-income groups.

With the PC Gemilang scheme last year, for example, the Government had teamed up with the Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry of Malaysia (Pikom), to promote PC ownership in the country.

The project kicked off with two low-cost models offered to the public: A RM988 PC and a RM1,147 desktop, running on different operating systems.

Pikom had estimated that the PC household penetration rate stood at only 26% of the five million households in the country, with the rate much lower in rural areas, at a mere 9.6% of households.

In its 9th Malaysia Plan, the Government said factors such as affordability and after-sales technical support availability need to be addressed in order to ensure the continuous usage and adoption of PC in local households.

The goal of one PC in every home is important because it will enable Malaysians to access and utilise Internet-based information resources, which is vital for the formation of a knowledge-based society and economy.

To promote IT literacy, the Government will initiate programmes that will encourage the development of content in Bahasa Malaysia and other local languages. This, it said, will help increase the use of ICT applications, such as e-commerce services, among more Malaysians.

There are also plans to bridge the divide by increasing computer literacy in parts of the country that need it most, and to equip potential ICT users there with general computing skills through better communications, telenetwork- ing and distance learning.

Targeted beneficiaries will be households, businesses, the disabled, the poor and senior citizens.

Under the 9th Malaysia Plan, telecentres around the country will be upgraded to Community Knowledge Centres.

These centres will be one-stop places for accessing e-government applications, e-learning, and information resource exchanges.

The Government intends to also bring ICT to sparsely populated districts and remote mukims through the setting up[ of smaller-scale telecentres.

The telecentres will be equipped with computers offering Internet access, as part of a Universal Service Provision programme.

Such a programme would improve the country’s ability to provide telecommunications services to currently un-served and under-served areas and communities. Electricity will also be supplied to those areas, with the help of the Malaysian Electricity Supply Industry Trust Account.

Also, business entities and community-based organisations are encouraged under the plan to collaborate and assist communities and target groups, identified by the National Bridging the Digital Divide Framework Study, to leverage on ICT to generate economic value and improve living standards.

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