The implementation of e-government in Malaysia was initiated by the introduction of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) in 1996. It seeks to improve convenience, accessibility and quality of transactions with citizens and businesses. Besides, it helps to improve information flow and processes within the government and this would enable the government to be more responsive to the needs of citizens.Current applications of E-government in Malaysia include:
1) Electronic Labor Exchange :
- Includes job registration and matching system, job clearing system for the handicapped and etc
2) E-Perolehan system : - assists suppliers on the transaction with the Government for the procurement of Government products and services
3) Road tax & driving license renewal4) Traffic summons information and payment :
http://www.eservices.com.my/speedhp_BI.jsp
5) E-syariah
6) E-filing of income tax forms
7) EPF Account enquiries and payments (KWSP i-Account)
8) MIA(Malaysia Institute of Accountants) annual fee payment
9) Repayment of PTPTN loan :
10) Payment to Telekom, Tenaga Nasional and Indah waterCommon problems encountered by consumers:
1) lack of awareness of the services offered
- the lack of advertising done by government about what it has to offer online has resulted in the ignorance of citizens about the existence of such online services, hence, they do not have the opportunity to enjoy the clicks of the mouse convenience.
2) Inaccessibility
- People who live in remote areas where internet connection is not easy to be accessed hinders them to benefit from using the applications of e-government system.
3) Lack of computer literacy and IT knowledge
- People who have minimal computer or IT knowledge will be less inclined to use online services as they are afraid they may not understand the steps for online processing or perceive it as a very difficult task for them to accomplish. Hence, they usually turn to offline services instead.
4) Security of transactions
- Users may not feel secured or safe to use online services as they fear the personal information will be accessed by other party for fraudulent purposes.
5) Language barrier
- Users may encounter difficulties when using the online services if they do not have a good grasp of the language used in the government websites.
Ways to encourage citizens to use these online applications:
1) Government should improve citizens’ awareness of the benefit brought by its online services as it is a convenient, efficient and cost effective to use and to access to the most current information available regarding the services offered.
2) Government websites should be designed in a way that is user-friendly and not too complicated and step-by-step guidance should be given to the users for processing transactions online.
3) To overcome the language barrier, translation of more types of languages should be made allowed.
4) Assurance regarding the security of transactions should be given to users by government. This can be accomplished by demonstrating to the public how strong the system is in preventing data stealing or modification by intruders.
5) Government may also improve the infrastructure of internet connection in remote areas to improvise the accessibility of users to internet and therefore benefitting from the online services provided.
Related links:-
Malaysia’s Government official Portal
E-government
Implementation of e-government in Malaysia
2 comments:
Hi,
The clear disadvantage of E-government is that the society no longer has face to face interaction upon doing any transaction. Many people valued face to face interaction as it gives them assurance and certainty. Plus, when the server is down, people tend to be anxious as they cannot gain access to their respective account.
I also realized all of the E-government application websites in Malaysia are in Bahasa Malaysia. I understand that there are certain rules and regulations that made the language to be compulsory in BM. However, simple translation should be included so that more people could benefit from these services.
Cheers.
hi galaxycharm,
yes, we agree with you that having face-to-face interaction for doing financial transactions especially gives more security and assurance to the payer. However, we believe that the current emphasis for doing transactions in today's world is the speed and efficiency in completing it. Take e-filing for example, it appears to give more convenience to both the taxpayers and IRB.
Regarding the language used in government websites, we believe that government is slowly showing effort in putting more languange options to its websites for the benefit of more people.
thank you.
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