His Excellency Mark Strasser, Acting High Commissioner of Canada,
Yang Mulia Abdul Mutalib Bin Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Setia Dato Paduka Haji Mohamad Yusof,
Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Communications
and Chairman of the Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI);
Yang Mulia Awang Haji Yahkup bin Haji Menudin, Chief Executive of AITI;
AITI's
Members of the Authority, Senior Officials from High Commission of
Canada, Representatives from private sector of Brunei Darussalam and
Canada, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen;
Assalamualaikum Warah Matullahi Wabarakatuh, a very good morning and welcome to Brunei Darussalam.
1.
I would like to thank His Excellency Mark Strasser, Acting High
Commissioner of Canada for inviting me this morning. I am very pleased
with this collaborative initiative between the High Commission of Canada
and AITI, of providing a platform for networking between our ICT
companies.
2. This
is indeed a very beneficial platform for our local ICT companies as we
need to go outside and be more active to explore more collaborative
opportunities. To pursue these opportunities, they need to be very
aware of the current trend and even acquire the ability to predict what
would be useful for the users in future.
3.
In the ICT industry, we have become familiar with things which we
couldn't have even thought of a decade ago but ended up being invented
and has made our lives more convenient. The iPad, cloud computing and
social media platforms are some examples, just to name a few. The
convenience of these inventions has led to hyperconnectivity.
4.
We have seen hyperconnnectivity around us where 'the Internet and its
associated services are accessible and immediate, where people and
businesses can communicate with each other instantly, and where machines
are equally interconnected with each other'[1].
5.
Considering the on-going trend and increasing expectations of the
users, it is the vision of the Ministry of Communications to achieve a
Smart Society by 2017. A Smart Society is where every day endeavours
and social and economic activities can be accomplished with the optimum
resources – be it time, transportation and expenses. More importantly
they can done anytime and anywhere. As such, through the Authority for
Info-communications Technology Industry (AITI) as the regulator and
developer of our ICT industry, we have embarked on several initiatives
with the intention to identify our areas of improvement while also
harnessing our strengths.
6. This is done through the Networked Readiness Index (NRI). We started in 2010 by initiating Networked Readiness Index (NRI) Study in two Phases. The NRI were derived from three aspects, namely:-
- Environment (market, political and infrastructure);
- Readiness (individual, business and governments); and
- Usage (Individual, business and government).
7. In a group of 144 economies we have achieved the position 63 in both 2010 and 2011. We have improved to 57th
position in 2013. The main improvements came from individual and
government usage. The NRI study also helped us to focus areas for
improvement. As a follow up to the NRI study, we held various
government, business and society stakeholders workshops to identify and
formulate lighthouse projects that can make an impact on our future ranking and readiness.
8.
In addition to projects on capacity building and e-learnings, the
lighthouse projects also include enhancing trust in e-transactions and
creating a platform for sharing data generated by GPS services. I am
very pleased as these projects support the growth of our local ICT
companies. In this regard, I urge for the implementation of the
lighthouse projects so that we are able to reap benefits from the
current trends requirements of Big Data and data analytics.
9.
In addition to NRI, the Ministry of Communications also gives
significant attention to the progress and development of our local ICT
companies. Opportunities to enhance their competitiveness, supporting
their capabilities as well as in facilitating their networking
opportunities are among our key strategies. Reflecting on our
participation in the Asia Pacific ICT Awards (APICTA), participants from
Brunei Darussalam are slowly but surely building their credibility at
the international stage. We started quite modestly at the early years
of our participation but started to pick up our momentum in 2009 with
our first win at APICTA. Since then, Brunei Darussalam's participation
in APICTA has resulted in winners and merit award recipients which have
motivated our local ICT players further. In the 2nd ASEAN ICT Awards 2013, our local company has won 3rd
place in the Digital Content category. From these achievement, clearly
our local ICT companies are full of potential, hence I highly
appreciate event such as today which can take the potential further for
our mutual benefits.
Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen,
10.
In Brunei Darussalam, hyperconnectivity has taken the users by storm,
especially when it comes to instant communications and sharing of
information. With about 120% mobile phone penetration, social media
usage is inevitable. With the recent roll-out of 4G/LTE by our operator
in late 2013, we are expecting growth in our users as well as in
content for more applications and services.
11.
Going beyond hyperconnectivity, I would like our industry to take the
ability of our society in usage to another level, which is
digitization. According to the Global IT Report 2013, digitization is
'the mass adoption of connected digital services by consumers,
enterprises and governments' which has emerged as a key economic driver
that accelerates growth and facilitates job creation[2].
The report went on further that an increase of 10% in a country's
digitization score produces 0.75% growth in GDP per capita, and is 4.7
more powerful than the impact of broadband deployment. The way to go
now is clearly towards adoption and utilisation.
12.
In this regard, embedded in our vision for a Smart Society in Brunei
Darussalam is the convenient of having the ability to do routine and
everyday chores on-line. This will include, among others, the ability
to manage our utility bills on-line.
13.
To support this vision, the availability of online services such
applications for driving licence online and medical records online will
very much drive the mass adoption and utilisation of ICT services.
For the Ministry of Communications, we are now actively promoting for
the online applications and renewals of driving and vehicles. Through
the e-Darussalam portal, users can now skip long queues and save more
time by conveniently doing on-line transactions to renew their driving
and vehicles licences. The numbers of on-line users, though very small
at the beginning is now picking up momentum. With only 5 online
transactions recorded for January 2013, this number has now increased to
about 260 online transactions for December 2013. This totals up to 337
online applications for renewal of driving and vehicle licenses since
the launch of e-Darussalam in 2011.
14.
Not just for transportation services, for on-line medical services,
Bru-HIMS, the Ministry of Health is also urging for the public to
register on-line. At the moment, around 60-70% of the population has
registered so far[3].
When it comes to online services, we need to show the public how
different it can be for them. Hence, it is a challenging transition
period that is being approached in a concerted and holistic manner by
the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yand Di-Pertuan of Brunei
Darussalam, with the support of the stakeholders and the users.
Your Excellency, ladies and gentlemen,
15.
I would like to very much highlight that we have been able to adress
the readiness of our users. Our NRI rankings would justify this. Thus,
now I would like to urge our local ICT companies to capitalise on this
readiness. The Internet of Things, coupled with users' readiness can be
a powerful tool. So powerful that, it can change the way things are
now being used and acquired. Enhanced retail opportunities and giving
customers a personalised experience at their own convenience is a
profitable product of digitization. Amazon.com, for example, grew its
annual sales to US$48billion in 2011, which has led to the bookstore,
Borders, losing its market share and filed for bankruptcy. BMW now
offering a build-your-own BMW online services which allows for
personalised combination in the finished product[4].
The potentials for commercial and retail opportunities are clearly
borderless, and perhaps this is something that our industry players can
develop further from this event today.
16.
In closing my remarks, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude
to the organizer for today's event - the High Commission of Canada with
collaboration from AITI for organizing this business matching event.
For the industry players – from Brunei and Canada, I wish you all the
best and I look forward to hear the outcome of your meetings today.
Thank you.
Wabillahi Taufik Walhidayah Assalamualaikum Warahmahtullahi Wabarakatuh
Referrence:
[1] The Global Information Technology Report 2012, World Economic Forum
[2] Digitization for Economic Growth and Job Creatio: Regional and Industry Perspectices, Global IT Report 2013
[3] Borneo Bulletin, 22 January 2014
[4] Digitization for Economic Growth and Job Creatio: Regional and Industry Perspectices, Global IT Report 2013
