E-Government in Malaysia: Its Implementation and Citizen's Adoption Strategies

Electronic Government or E-government has become very popular in today's technological advancement world. E-government is the use of information and communication technology to provide and improve government services, transactions and interactions with citizens,businesses,and others. The most important of implementation of e-government is aims to help strenghten government's drive toward effective governance and increased transparency to better manage a country's social and economic resources for development. Many countries have widely implemented e-government since last decade,including Malaysia in order to deliver electronic government service to benefit their citizens.

E-government was started to implement in M'sia since the introducton of Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) in year 1996. This initiative was launched to lead our country as a step into the Information Age. Its purpose is to improve Malaysian government's internal operations,as well as the delivery of government services to Malaysia's citiizens. Besides that,it can also enhance the convenience,accessibility and quality of interactions with the citizens and businesses. Meanwhile,it can improve information flows and processes within government ,the speed and quality of policy development,coordination and enforcement.

E-government was one of the Seven Flagship application introduces by MSC in order to lead the Malaysian towards the objectives of Vision 2020. However, there are seven pilot projects of the Electronic Government Flagship Application:

1. Project Monitoring System (SPP II)
2. Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS)
3. Generic Office Environment (GOE)
4. Electronic Procurement (EP)
5. Electronic Services (E-services)
6. Electronic Labour Exchange (ELX)
7. E-syariah

Under these 7 pilot projects, it is divided into 3 categories,there are Government to Citizens (G2C), Government to Business (G2B) and Government to Government (G2G).

Government to Citizens (G2C)

1. Electronic Services (E-services)

With e-services, now everyone can conduct transactions with Government agencies, such as Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) through various convenient channels such as the eServices kiosks and internet. It eliminate the queuing, traffic jams or bureaucratic hassles and they can conduct transactions at their own wish and convenience.

2. Electronic Labour Exchange (ELX)

ELX is one stop-centre for labor market information, as supervised by the Ministry of Human Resource (MORH), to enable employers and job seekers to communicate on the same platform. Their objectives are :
~ Enable an effective and integrated job matching process.
~ Provide an effective center of labot market information and references.
~ To improve mobilisation of the nation's human resources and to ensure that manpower utilization is optimized.

3. E-Syariah

E-syariah is the seventh project under the Electronic Government flagship application of the MSC. A case management system that integrates the processes related to management of cases for the Syariah Courts.The objectives are :
~ To improve the quality of services of the Syariah Courts
~ To improve the effectiveness of JKSM (Jabatan Kehakiman Syariah Malaysia) in coordinating and supervising related agencies under its jurisdiction.
~ To improve the productivity and efficiency of the management of the Syariah courts throughout the country.
~ To upload the splendors of Islam through the use of ICT(Information of Communication and Technology).

Government to Business (G2B)

1. E-procurement (EP)

An electronic procurement system, which enables suppliers to sell goods and services to the Government through the Internet. Suppliers "open shop" on the World Wide Web (WWW), advertise their pricing, process orders and deliveries. Its objectives includes :
~ Enables accountability and transparency.
~ Creates more skilled and knowledgeable workforce.
~ Equips the workforce with the latest technology at minimum cost.

2. Generic Office Environment (GOE)

Powerful document and office management solution that enables users to effectively and efficiently manage their office environment. It is fully web-based and has been customized based on local developed package, DRDok. Its objectives includes :
~ Efficient preparation and storage of documents.
~ Fast search and retrieval of documents.
~ Effective and productive collaboration and sharing of information.
~ Secure and traceable access to documents.

Government to Government (G2G)

1. Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS)

HRMIS is integrated, technology-enabled Human Resource Management Information System for the Malaysian Public Service, incorporating Global Best Practices in HR that would enable the Public Service to successfully deal with the Challenges of the K-Economy(knowledge and the ability to use it to create new value and wealth). The objectives includes :
~ Effective staffing and right-sizing of civil service.
~ Up-to-date consolidated HR data for effective information planning.
~ Automate human resource anagerial and operational processes.
~ Improve paperless HRM capabilities.
~ Open and flexible system.
~ Better communication, horizontal integration, streamlined processes and single window access.

2. Project Monitoring System (SPP II)

Online system that monitors the entire lifecycle of national programs, i.e. from project application to approval to implementation, mid-term review and completion. Its objectives includes:
~ To support and monitor entire lifecycle of Malaysia's 5-Year development program.
~ To have a quality projects.
~ To provide a platform for exchanging ideas and demonstrating best practices models in project implementation.
~ To have an effective decision making based on analysis or forecasting of project informaiton and auto-alert on problem projects (e.g. Budget overrun).

Citizen's Adoption Strategies

E-services form an emerging field, which is rapidly gaining attention and importance. Citizens expect and require governmental services with a high degree of quality, quantity and availability. Governments all over the world are developing information systems and electronic services that have the capacity to meet these emerging service needs and demands of citizens and other customers. Success in delivering electronic services depends upon the capability and self-confidence of citizens in performing e-transactions, as well as their trust and confidence in the protection of their personal data within an open and accountable government. The ease of use, compatibility, and trustworthiness are significant predictors of citizens’ intention to use e-services and that perceived reactive advantage,image,compatibility,usefulness and relative advantage are significant elements of e-Government adoption. These are the 4 areas that should be focusing :

1. Customer satisfaction

E-Government adoption requires that citizens show higher levels of satisfaction with the online service provided by the government. A higher level of customer satisfaction will increase the rate of e-Government adoption.

2. Quality of Service

Online service quality for e-Government could be measured in terms of quality of content provided on the website, the speed of the response to the citizens concerns with problem solving approach, and the availability of names. Other important measurement factors are telephone and fax numbers of personnel with whom citizens might need to get in touch, and the integration of an offline channel with online channel so that citizens could interact with government departments through other means if necessary. Higher quality of service will lead to higher levels of customer satisfaction and thus can increase the use of e-government services.

3. Design of the Web

Personalization of websites, customization of product offerings, and self-care are the three key features that could be used not only to build relationship with the visitors, but also to enhance their experience. These features give visitors a sense of control and participation and could potentially enhance their adoption. Besides that, detailed guidance and instructions such as Frequently-Asked Question section and etc must be available to aid the citizens in using the e-government services effectively and smoothly.

4. User Characteristic

User characteristics have a direct impact on e-government service adoption such as perceived risk and control and also internet experience. Experience influences a citizen’s trust of e-government. Users with prior experience, especially if satisfied, would be more likely to return to use e-Government services. Perceived risk leads to security and privacy issues that might discourage the use of online services. It is crucial to ensure that citizens can have online transaction securely and their personal information will be kept confidential to increase the level of trust and the e-government adoption rate.

References :
http://www.egov4dev.org/success/definitions.shtml#coverage
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-Government
http://www.apdip.net/publications/iespprimers/eprimer-egov.pdf
http://www1.american.edu/initeb/ym6974a/egovernment.htm
http://ect6.blogspot.com/2009_02_15_archive.html