Download - Why E-Government?
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
1/58
University of Leicester
MA New Media & Society
Dissertation topic: Why E-Government? A lookat socio-political rationale behind e-governmentstrategy in ASEAN
Muhammad R Malik
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
2/58
Page 2 of 58
Table of ContentsIntroduction .......................................................................................................................................... 4
Information Society .......................................................................................................................... 4
e-Business ...................................................................................................................................... 6
e-Citizen ......................................................................................................................................... 6
e-Government ............................................................................................................................... 7
Defining e-government ................................................................................................................... 8
Perspectives of e-government ........................................................................................................ 9
ASEAN ............................................................................................................................................ 10
Literature Review ............................................................................................................................... 14
Debate on Information Society ..................................................................................................... 14
Theoretical Frameworks for E-Government .............................................................................. 17
Studies on e-government in ASEAN ........................................................................................... 18
Cambodia .................................................................................................................................... 18
Brunei ........................................................................................................................................... 19
Malaysia....................................................................................................................................... 23
Singapore ..................................................................................................................................... 30
E-Government in ASEAN ............................................................................................................. 33
Methodology ....................................................................................................................................... 35
Advantages of the E-mail Interview ........................................................................................ 35
Disadvantages of the E-Mail Interview .................................................................................. 36
Design .............................................................................................................................................. 39
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
3/58
Page 3 of 58
Sample Selection ............................................................................................................................. 41
Administration ............................................................................................................................... 42
Discussion and Analysis ................................................................................................................... 44
Why e-government? ...................................................................................................................... 45
Perceptions Do Matter ................................................................................................................... 46
Delivering services ......................................................................................................................... 47
Privacy and Security ...................................................................................................................... 49
Impact of political and regulatory factors .................................................................................. 52
Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................... 53
Bibliography ....................................................................................................................................... 56
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
4/58
Page 4 of 58
Introduction
ASEAN is made up of 10 member countries which have diverse historical, cultural, and
ideological backgrounds from the semi-authoritarian to the democracies, to the absolute
monarchies. As such, the level of readiness, rationale, and implementation of e-government
in these member countries is just as diverse.
To date, there have been very few studies done on e-government in ASEAN, of particular
note being Ian Hollidays work Building e-government in East and Southeast Asia:
Regional rhetoric and national (in)action and Rivera et al, E-government in the ASEAN
Context: A Conceptual Framework. Because of this, there has been a call for more studies
on e-government specifically in the ASEAN context.
I am approaching this topic from a socio-political perspective, looking at the motivation for
ASEAN nation states to adopt and implement e-government initiatives. Also looking at
whether e-government can help to strengthen the authoritarian state and augment central
authority. There is also this notion of e-government helping to eliminate corruption and
other questionable practices by increasing transparency and bolstering accountability. Why
do some e-government initiatives focus on service provision, while others emphasize
participation? To what degree do the various national e-government policies in ASEAN
converge in terms of formulation of aims, and implementation?
Most of these questions will be answered within the framework of the Information Society
with particular reference to technological determinism in Castells works and that of other s
such as Daniel Bell, Alvin Toeffler, and Frank Webster.
Information Society
The concept of Information Society is one which academics have used to describe changes
that took place in the late 20th century where knowledge-based activities became the
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
5/58
Page 5 of 58
increasingly predominant contributor to the GDP of industrialized countries where
previously manufacturing held the lead. Knowledge-based industries consist mainly of the
service sector which now accounts for more than 70% of employment in these countries. The
study of this phenomenon led to the development of such inter-related concepts as the
"post-industrial society", the "service economy" and the "information society" and
"Knowledge based economy" (de Miranda, 2004)
There are three components which make up the digital economy, namely hardware,
software, and the infrastructure. The hardware component is made up of all the machines
and equipment that are used in the creation of digital products and services. The software
component includes the human resources, skills, and knowledge which are leveraged upon
to design and create new and innovative products. The infrastructure is then the conduit
upon which these goods and services are delivered, i.e. broadband internet.
My understanding of the information society can be explained by the Venn diagram below.
The digital economy sits at the centre of the diagram where the three elements of e-
government, e-business, and e-citizen converge. In other words, it is a convergence of
economic activity which has a transformational impact on every single aspect of society.
Figure 1 Information Society lies at the convergence of e-Government, e-Business and e-Citizen
eGovernment
eBusinesseCitizen
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
6/58
Page 6 of 58
e-Business
As mentioned previously, e-business is one of the main components of the information
society where more and more business, from communications to product design all the way
to product delivery, is being transacted over the internet. In other words, e-business covers
all business processes spanning the entire value chain from purchasing and logistics
management to customer service and corporate partnerships - all of them making use of
electronic communications. According to the Office for National Statistics, In 2008, Internet
sales represented 9.8 per cent of the value of all sales of UK non-financial sector businesses.
This was up from 7.7 per cent in 2007. The value of these sales rose to 222.9bn in 2008, an
increase of 36.6 per cent from the 2007 figure of 163.2bn. Sales consisted of 104.7bn website
sales and 118.2bn EDI (electronic data interchange) sales over the Internet. (Office for
National Statistics, 2009)
e-Citizen
In the information society, more and more civic engagement is conducted over the internet.
Half of those who are involved in a political or community group communicate with other
group members using digital tools such as email or group websites. According to the Pew
Internet and American Life Project, Just over one-third of Americans (36%) are involved in
a civic or political group, and more than half of these (56%) use digital tools to communicate
with other group members. At the forefront is emailfully 57% of wired civic group
members use email to communicate with fellow group members. (Smith, Schlozman, &
Verba, 2009)
In addition to this, e-Citizen also includes leveraging ICTs to help the specific sections of
society which share a particular problem. An example of this is support groups like the
American Cancer Society which offers support to individuals and families who have been
affected by cancer either directly or indirectly. These support groups help alleviate the
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
7/58
Page 7 of 58
suffering by offering information and a channel for communication with others in the same
situation.
e-Government
Many countries around the world are now well aware of the importance of e-government
and many governments have shown leadership in developing online services. The benefits
of e-government applications can include cutting costs and improving processes and
information flow; but one of its primary aims is to improve customer service for citizens.
Attention is now being focused on new initiatives such as integrating social media tools or
adopting cloud computing services.
According to the Pew Internet Life project, e-government in the US context is:
Data driven Efforts by government agencies to post their data online are resonatingwith citizens. Fully 40% of online adults went online in the preceding year to access
data and information about government (for instance, by looking up stimulus
spending, political campaign contributions or the text of legislation).
Organized around new online platforms Citizen interactions with government aremoving beyond the website. Nearly one third (31%) of online adults use online
platforms such as blogs, social net- working sites, email, online video or text
messaging to get government information.
Participatory Americans are not simply going online for data and information; theywant to share their personal views on the business of government. Nearly one
quarter (23%) of internet users participate in the online debate around government
policies or issues, with much of this discussion occurring outside of official
government channels. (Smith, 2010)
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
8/58
Page 8 of 58
Defining e-government
A number of definitions for e-government have been offered in existing literature. mly
dfnd, -Gvrnmnt th u f T n gnrl nd th utltn f ntrnt n
rtulr tl to hv bttr gvrnmnt (D, 2003). Better gvrnmnt mn
dlvrng ubl rv nd rng ntrnl wrk n th gvrnmnt n muh mr
nvnnt, utmr-rntd, ndt-fftv wy. (Song, 2010)
Generally, e-government employs technology, particularly the Internet, to enhance the
access to and delivery of government information and services to citizens, businesses,
government employees, and other agencies. From a technical standpoint, e-government
initiatives usually involve several types of electronic and information systems, including
database, networking, discussion support, multimedia, automation, tracking and tracing,
and personal identification technologies. Depending on the nation, e-government can span
local governments, state or provincial governments, and the national government, with the
levels having separate or interconnected e-government sites. At the supra-national level, the
European Union is even working to create a consistent level of e-government service in its
member nations. (Jaeger, 2003)
A study done by Hu et al in 2008 on what is the widely accepted definition of e-government
based on a content analysis of hundreds of articles on e-government, came up with six
distinct elements which made up the common definition of e-government. According to this
study, the field of e-government deals with:
1. the major initiatives of management and delivery of information and public services;2. taken by all levels of governments (including agencies, sectors);3. on behalf of citizens, business;
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
9/58
Page 9 of 58
4. involving using multi-ways of internet, web site, system integration, andinteroperability;
5. to enhance the services (information, communication, policy making), quality andsecurity; and
6. as a new key (main, important) strategy or approach.
The study is unique in that it discusses the definition of e-government by an exploratory
approach. The universal shared definition extracted helps in the framing of future works
including this one in terms of a definition of e-government (Hu, Pan, Lu, & Wang, 2009).
Until the advent of the Internet, ICT was seen in the government context as an automation
tool and of peripheral concern. Today however, its role in the core function of government
and management is acknowledged and given much attention.
According to Yildiz, there appears a lack of in-depth analysis of e-government development
processes from a political perspective, and a deeper recognition of complex political and
institutional environments. He goes on further to say that, e-government research up to
date for the most part limited itself to the study of the outcomes and outputs of the e-
government projects. Thus, understanding the political processes behind e-government
development is vital for overcoming both definitional and analytical limitations. Such an
effort requires a historical understanding of the relationship between technology and
administration. (Yildiz, 2007)
Perspectives of e-government
E-government can be seen as operating within five inter-related contexts: political, public
service, economic, technological and social. These contexts are shaped by both past and
present policies, culture, structures and processes. Those driving their national e-
government initiatives should take these contexts into account and consider issues like
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
10/58
Page 10 of 58
population size and how to manage multi-level governments e.g. national, provincial and
local governments.
Different perspectives of e-government have been expressed by various academics and
consultants. These perspectives can be broadly represented by three components (formal
politics, administration and civil society), or two environments i.e. policy environment
(security/privacy, innovation, digital divide and technology standards) and societal
environment (political, economic, social and technological) (Yong, 2003).
ASEAN
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was established on 8 August 1967
in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by
the Founding Fathers of ASEAN, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and
Thailand.
e-government
Political
Social Public Service
Technological Economic
e.g. Human CapitalDevelopment, Digital
Divide, e-Culture,Information Culture
e.g. Information andCommunication
Infrastructure andIndustry
e.g. Structure ofbureaucracy, IT
experience, Changeculture
e.g. Vision, Politicalclimate
e.g. Economic andTrade Policies,
Legislation
Figure 2 e-Government Context
Social
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
11/58
Page 11 of 58
Brunei Darussalam joined on 8 January 1984, Viet Nam on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR and
Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999, making up what is today the ten
Member States of ASEAN.
As set out in the ASEAN Declaration, the aims and purposes of ASEAN are:
1. To accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the regionthrough joint endeavours in the spirit of equality and partnership in order to strengthen the
foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian Nations;
2. To promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of lawin the relationship among countries of the region and adherence to the principles of the United
Nations Charter;
3. To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest in theeconomic, social, cultural, technical, scientific and administrative fields;
4. To provide assistance to each other in the form of training and research facilities in theeducational, professional, technical and administrative spheres;
5. To collaborate more effectively for the greater utilization of their agriculture and industries,the expansion of their trade, including the study of the problems of international commodity
trade, the improvement of their transportation and communications facilities and the raising
of the living standards of their peoples;
6. To promote Southeast Asian studies; and7. To maintain close and beneficial cooperation with existing international and regional
organizations with similar aims and purposes, and explore all avenues for even closer
cooperation among themselves. (ASEAN, 1967)
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
12/58
Page 12 of 58
In 2000, all ASEAN member states Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam endorsed the e-
ASEAN Framework Agreement to promote co-operation to develop, strengthen and
enhance the competitiveness of the ICT sector in ASEAN, reduce the digital divide within
individual ASEAN economies and amongst member states, as well as between the public
and private sectors to realize the e-ASEAN vision, and to liberalize trade and investment in
ICT to support the e-ASEAN initiative (ASEAN, 2000).
The agreement rest on six pillars:
(1) Establishment of ASEAN information infrastructure.(2) Facilitation of growth of electronic commerce.(3) Liberalization of trade and investments in ICT products and ICT services.(4) Facilitation of trade in ICT products and ICT services.(5) Capacity building and e-society, and(6) e-Government. (ASEAN, 2000)
Among the efforts being made to establish the ASEAN Information Infrastructure is the
creation of a database of National Information Infrastructure profiles to encourage
competition, rapid deployment of new technology and ICT investment in the region. At the
same time, Ministers of Telecommunications and IT decided that all ASEAN Member
Countries develop and operationalise national Computer Emergency Response Teams
(CERTs) by 2005 in line with mutually agreed minimum performance criteria. A virtual
forum for ASEAN cybersecurity is being formed to develop a common framework to
coordinate exchange of information, establishment of standards and cooperation among
enforcement agencies.
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
13/58
Page 13 of 58
ASEAN is building a network of ICT skills competency centers/agencies to promote
collaboration amongst these centers and agencies, including training of ASEAN SMEs to
harness the benefits of ICT applications. ASEAN has developed a Digital Divide Database to
promote understanding of the dimensions of the ASEAN digital divide, exchange
information on Universal Service Obligation (USO) schemes and develop joint studies and
projects (ASEAN, 2003).
ASEAN submitted a joint statement to the World Summit on the Information Society, held in
Geneva on 10 December 2003, which advocated the following: (a) the global strategy to
realize the Information Society must be based on concrete milestones rather than broad
visions; (b) the Plan of Action should be adapted to each regions unique and diverse needs;
and (c) existing regional initiatives such as e-ASEAN should be leveraged upon when
implementing ICT programmes. (ASEAN Secretariat, 2003a)
During the 9th ASEAN Telecommunications & Information Technology Ministers (TELMIN)
Meeting which was held in Vietnam in 2009, Ministers agreed that there is a need to develop
an ASEAN ICT Master Plan 2015 as a strategic document to bring the ASEAN ICT sector to a
higher level and to reinforce the role of ICT for ASEAN integration. The Ministers agreed
that the vision of the ASEAN ICT Master Plan will be Towards an Empowering and
Transformational ICT: Creating an Inclusive, Vibrant and Integrated ASEAN, and tasked
the senior officials to further develop the details of the Master Plan for consideration at the
next TELMIN Meeting. (ASEAN Secretariat, 2003b)
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
14/58
Page 14 of 58
Literature Review
Debate on Information Society
Concepts such as knowledge society, information society, network society, informational
capitalism, postindustrial society, transnational network capitalism, postmodern society, etc.
show that there is a vivid discussion in contemporary sociology on the character of
contemporary society and the role that technologies, information, communication, and co-
operation play in it. Information society theory discusses the role of information and
information technology in society, the question which key concepts shall be used for
characterizing contemporary society, and how to define such concepts. It has become a
specific branch of contemporary sociology (Beniger & Beniger, 1986).
Issues of technologies and their role in contemporary society have been discussed in the
scientific literature using a range of labels and concepts. Ideas of a knowledge or
information economy, post-industrial society, postmodern society, network society, the
information revolution, informational capitalism, network capitalism, and the like, have
been debated over the last several decades.
Following on the rapid expansion of the Information Society, the United Nations called for a
World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) organized under the auspices of the
International Telecommunication Union. The two-phase summit, begun in Geneva in 2003,
and concluded in November 2005 with WSIS Phase II in Tunisia. The goal of this meeting
was to assess progress and prompt further global action to capture the promise of ICT for
all. The result of this meeting was a Special Report "Information Society: The Next Steps"
which looks at how the ICT landscape is changing in the developing world and what lies
ahead. Experts from governments, donors, NGOs and the private sector speak out about
effective policies, promising applications and innovative business models (WSIS, 2001).
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
15/58
Page 15 of 58
In the 60s Fritz Machlup introduced the concept of the knowledge industry, dividing it into
five sectors, i.e. education, research and development, mass media, information
technologies, information services. Machlup was the first to measure knowledge as a broad
concept, while other measurements were concerned with the production of scientific
knowledge, namely research and development (R&D), not its distribution. (Godin, 2008)
As an economic concept, Porat and Rubin both distinguished a primary (information goods
and services that are directly used in the production, distribution or processing of
information) and a secondary sector (information services produced for internal
consumption by government and non-information firms) of the information economy. Porat
uses the total value added by the primary and secondary information sector to the GNP as
an indicator for the information economy. The OECD has employed Porat's definition for
calculating the share of the information economy in the total economy (OECD, 2002). Based
on such indicators the information society has been defined as a society where more than
half of the GNP is produced and more than half of the employees are active in the
information economy (Engelbrecht, 1997).
Homburg, who outlines ICT developments in technology, economy, work, space, and
culture, argues that these developments mark a shift from an industrial society to a post-
industrial society. Economic production no longer thrives upon physical labour and
products, but on manipulating information by white collar knowledge workers who create
value out of applying their skills and creativity to information. For Daniel Bell the number of
employees producing services and information is an indicator for the informational
character of a society. A post-industrial society is based on services. () What counts is not
raw muscle power, or energy, but information. () A post industrial society is one in which
the majority of those employed are not involved in the production of tangibl e goods (Bell,
1973). And what counts for workers is intellectual skills, unique talents, that they can apply
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
16/58
Page 16 of 58
to raw informational materials using ICT tools that enable them to work wherever they like
whenever they wish or are assigned to do so (Homburg, 2008).
According to Castells, the Information Society is a society in which activities and economic
production take place in a technological paradigm, constituted around information and
communication technologies. Castells argues that in the Information Society, the focus is not
so much on products and services, but rather on an informational mode of production. He
conceives of creating, manipulating and distributing information and knowledge as being
the core of our economy. According to Castells, the entrance of information and knowledge
production to the centre stage of our economy has the consequence that technological
developments result in new forms of social interaction, control, and developments (Castells,
2000).
Van Dijk defines the network society as a "social formation with an infrastructure of social
and media networks enabling its prime mode of organization at all levels (individual,
group/organizational and societal). Increasingly, these networks link all units or parts of
this formation (individuals, groups and organizations)" (Van Dijk, 2006). For Van Dijk
networks have become the nervous system of society, whereas Castells links the concept of
the network society to capitalist transformation, Van Dijk sees it as the logical result of the
increasing widening and thickening of networks in nature and society.
Critics of the Information Society argue that it is nothing radically new, and just a
progression of society with perhaps an increase in the amount of information. Webster is
particularly critical by saying, If there is just more information then it is hard to understand
why anyone should suggest that we have before us something radically new(Webster,
2002a). He further argues that these approaches stress discontinuity, as if contemporary
society had nothing in common with society as it was 100 or 150 years ago. Such
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
17/58
Page 17 of 58
assumptions would have ideological character because they would fit with the view that we
can do nothing about change and have to adopt to existing political realities (Webster,
2002b).
Theoretical Frameworks for E-Government
E-government is perceived differently in connection with its theoretical background.
According to Garson, there are four theoretical frameworks within which e-government is
conceptualized. The first framework involves the potential of IT in decentralization and
democratization. The second normative/dystopian framework underlines the limitations
and contradictions of technology. Third, the socio-technical systems approach emphasizes
the continuous and two-way interaction of the technology and the organizational
institutional environment. The fourth framework places e-government within theories of
global integration. (Garson, 1999)
What is also lacking in the treatment of the subject is a more in-depth analysis of the political
nature of the e-government development processes, and a deeper recognition of complex
political and institutional environments. However, e-government research up to date for the
most part limited itself to the study of the outcomes and outputs of the e-government
projects. Thus, understanding the political processes behind e-government development is
vital for overcoming both definitional and analytical limitations. Such an effort requires a
historical understanding of the relationship between technology and administration (Yildiz,
2007).
The relationship between ICTs and its surrounding social structures also needs to be
acknowledged and the current literature does address this to a certain extent with what has
been termed the ensemble view of technology. The ensemble view establishes that
information technologies are not only the physical artifacts, but also the social relations
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
18/58
Page 18 of 58
around those artifacts. The ensemble view sees technology as merely one component of a
more complex socio- technical system. Other components can include commitment, training,
and policies, among others (Kling & Schacchi, 1982). This complexity can partially explain
the low rate of success of e-government initiatives.
Studies on e-government in ASEAN
Whereas many studies have analyzed e-government efforts in Asia and other regions of the
world (mostly developed nations), there has only been one systematic analysis of e-
government in ASEAN. In 2002, Holliday evaluated the development of e-government
projects in East and Southeast Asia. He analyzed 10 ASEAN countries and their East Asian
counterparts by visiting central government sites and gathering data on Internet visibility,
utility, and connectivity and then comparing the results with other major regional
associations such the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), European Union (EU), the
Group of Eight (G8), and the OECD (Rivera, Chan, & Sriramesh, 2005).
Cambodia
In one of the few studies on e-government adoption in ASEAN and the first study on e-
government adoption in Cambodia, Sang et al examine the factors that influence e-
government adoption in Cambodia by using the technology acceptance model (TAM), the
extended TAM (TAM2), the diffusion of innovations (DOI) theory, and trust to build a
parsimonious yet comprehensive model of user adoption of e-government. The authors
tested the model with an empirical study. Data was collected from a total of 112 public
officers in 12 ministries in Cambodia. The research model was then assessed with multiple
regression analyses.
The findings in this study showed that the determinants of the research model (perceived
usefulness, relative advantage, and trust) are support. At the same time, the important
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
19/58
Page 19 of 58
determinants of perceived usefulness include image and output quality. The study would go
on to help government policy decision makers design and implement policies and strategies
to increase the adoption of e-government services in Cambodia as well as in other countries,
particularly ASEAN member states that have a similar situation. (Sang, Lee, & Lee, 2009)
Brunei
Brunei Darussalams government is a form of constitutional monarchy, referred to as Malay
Islamic Monarchy in official documents. The country is ruled according to established
Islamic values and traditions. The same family has now ruled Brunei for over six centuries.
The present head of state, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, is the supreme executive authority
and serves as Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Minister of Finance.
ICT adoption in Brunei has generally been driven by the government, with computerization
programs beginning as early as the 1970s. In the 90s a national IT strategic planning
framework was formulated and the first National IT Strategic Plan took off starting in 2000.
The Vision and Mission of this e-Government Strategic Plan 2009-2014 addresses the needs
of its three major stakeholders namely the citizen, industry and the Government. It is
aligned with the national vision of Wawasan 2035 and harmonized with the agenda of the
proposed Ministry of Communication's E-Strategy of Brunei Darussalam as well as the Civil
Service 21st Century Vision.
The Wawasan 2035 goals to become the Top 10 nation in world ranking and be recognized
as a highly educated society will be realized faster through the effective use of ICT. The
successful delivery of the e-Government initiative will certainly support the e-Government
action points in the national E-Strategy agenda. It will definitely support the objectives and
strategies of the Civil Service 21st Century Vision towards national development and
improving public wellbeing.
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
20/58
Page 20 of 58
The Brunei Darussalam e-Government Implementation Review 2006 and the subsequent
direction provided by the Way Forward Strategic Framework Action Plan (May 2007)
outline the core thrusts to provide citizen-centric services and introduce civil service reform.
The strategies formulated in this e-Government Strategic Plan aligns with all these.
The E-Government Leadership Forum (EGLF) is the champion for the e-Government
initiative with the Ministries, E-Government National Centre (EGNC), E-Government
Technical Authority Body (EGTAB) and related agencies working in harmony to deliver the
programmes and projects. (Yong, 2003)
Being citizen-centric means that the fundamental focus is the business process. Though ICT
can improve the efficiency of a service, it is the business process improvement that has the
greatest impact. A review of the business process becomes a necessity before any significant
Improvement can be realized.
The most important factor in this e-Government Strategic Plan is the need to develop the
civil service capabilities and capacity in ICT and prepare them for the changes of reforms in
delivering better government services. The ICT capacity development will produce more
ICT experts within the civil service and breed future ICT leaders of the country.
The initial phase undertaken is to consolidate and centralize the ICT workforce in the civil
service under the E-Government National Centre (EGNC).
To optimize the impact to citizens, the Government will identify services that are of public
value through studies or surveys, amongst others. Some of these services will be available
online while others will utilise ICT in the background to enhance delivery.
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
21/58
Page 21 of 58
Where practical, online services will be made available 24 hours ill day and made accessible
via the internet and mobile. The services delivered must be easy to use, navigate and most
importantly, intuitive - be it information, interactive or transactional services.
Online submission of applications will be the norm which minimises the need for citizen s to
visit the relevant government agencies. Citizens will only need to remember one
government web site to access these online government services for their personal or
business requirements. Even services for non-residents are catered for, such as work
permits. Considerations will be taken to make some services accessible for citizens who are
physically challenged through special web pages, telephone assistance or special counter
support.
For added convenience, single sign-on technology is being seriously considered where each
citizen only needs to remember one username and password to access any online services
from any Government agencies.
Timely public awareness campaigns will be conducted to inform the public on the launching
of Government e-services whilst promoting the benefits or incentivizing the public to use the
service. On the other hand, Government employees are informed of any new developments
via the intra-Government website or through other relevant channels. The information
includes new policies, services or business process changes.
Successful delivery of services hinges on standardisation, sound policies, and relevant
legislation s and frameworks to facilitate adoption of ICT and roll-out of the services.
Standardization will ensure that systems are interoperable, manageable and cost-effective.
Use of emails and other collaborative tools in the civil service improves productivity at
work. Government will install computer networks to enable communication across
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
22/58
Page 22 of 58
Government agencies and the public. Resources will be used effectively by allowing
Government agencies with similar needs to share common systems.
Sharing of data across Government agencies are realized through the creation of information
warehouses or hubs. Sharing of frequently used data across agencies, such as national
identification numbers, Improves processing time.
The Government Ministries, departments and Data Centres are all linked via a high-speed
reliable fibre optic network. This "one Government Network" is connected to t he internet
thereby making Government websites available to the public round-the -clock. Our
connectivity to the world via submarine cables ensures that online services are accessible
globally.
At the same time, the Government will ensure that the public has access to reliable domestic
Internet service to their homes either via wired or wireless means.
The online Government services, network and other components are made secure so that
citizen can confidently use the online services; knowing that their privacy, confidentiality
and security are properly protected. Government sites undergo regular security audits as a
norm. A national Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) provides added security assurance to
Government employee and citizens.
The Government tracks the implementation of e-Government programmes centrally through
the E-Government Technical Authority Body (EGTAB).
Frequent citizen surveys, polls or other means will be conducted to determine the
effectiveness of the e-services. Through citizen feedbacks, the Government can learn and
further refine the services to ultimately satisfy the citizen's needs.
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
23/58
Page 23 of 58
One of the flagship programmes of the e -Government is the enabling of online payments for
Government services via internet or mobile devices, including the payment of utility bills.
Two other noteworthy high profile flagship are the Multipurpose Smartcard and E-Health.
These are noteworthy due to their relevance to the research topic, i.e. socio-political
applications of e-government.
Multipurpose Smartcard
The smartcard was first introduced in Brunei in 2000. Since then, more than 300,000 have
been issued in the form of identity cards which are compulsory for all Bruneians.
Theoretically the card can be used as a driving license, school registration document or for
other purposes. It has also been identified for use in other multipurpose function such as a
travel document or passport. It may be used for immigration clearance at border control
points or even for future e-government applications.
E-Health
The vision of the Ministry of Health is to enhance medical services through e-Health. E-
Health refers to healthcare services being available through the Internet. E-Health is about
the use of informatics and telemedicine in the way we use information, telecommunication
and technology in medical care, prevention, education and training.
Malaysia
Malaysia has put much effort into ICT and e-Government, with the creation of various
flagship projects under the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) initiative. There have been
some challenges along the way, but there has also been significant progress both within the
government as well as e-services to the public (especially in urban areas and also to bridge
the digital divide -or reap the digital dividends, as some Malaysian leaders like to say in
more rural areas). Projects such as e-KL, SSO, national High Speed Broadband initiatives, etc
all bear testimony to this.
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
24/58
Page 24 of 58
The government is faring very well with its e-government strategy despite many challenges.
The strategy is successfully delivered in phases and the government is continuing their
effort to bring the e-government potential to the next level. The e-Government initiative was
launched in Malaysia in the year 1997 as one of the flagships of the MSC Malaysia initiative.
MDeC has been working together with the government in providing assistance and thought
leadership to facilitate implementation of the e-government initiative. On the side of
government, the Malaysian Administrative Modernization and Management Planning Unit
(MAMPU) is currently championing the e-Government initiative. Since 1997, there has been
tremendous improvement in the government operational efficiency and management via e-
Government initiative amongst others, and Malaysia has many success stories to share.
Malaysias success has also attracted other countries to learn from us and emulate our plan.
This is where Malaysia has positioned itself as the thought leader among other countries.
As the central agency for modernization of the civil service and transformation of service
delivery, MAMPU performs the following four functions:
Prime mover and change agent for the administration and management of the civilservice, introducing and promoting new programs for improvements, and
measuring and assessing the responsiveness, efficiency and effectiveness of the civil
service as a whole.
Planning and spearheading the development and usage of ICT in the public sector.Planning and administering public sector ICT systems which improve the delivery of
services.
Consultant on the organizational management giving advice on the structures,systems, and work procedures towards the improvement of the civil service.
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
25/58
Page 25 of 58
Facilitator for modernization and transformational programs for the delivery ofgovernment services. As knowledge repository for the expertise from all sectors
towards empowerment of and modernization of the administration.
Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC)
In Malaysia the shift towards a knowledge-based economy started to gain momentum from
the mid-1990s. Rising wages coupled with echoing productivity had somehow eroded
Malaysia's position as a low-cost production base. This concerned spurred on the nation's
leadership in their search for new drivers of growth, one being the move away from labour-
intensive towards knowledge intensive industries. furthermore, Malaysia recognized that
low wages did not necessarily translate to competitiveness. to achieve sustainable economic
growth, it was imperative for munitions to embrace the knowledge-based economy but the
nation needed to harness the innovative potential of its people by leveraging on an educated
and skilled workforce, and investing in the right infrastructure, particularly in the area of
ICT.
It was against this backdrop that the multimedia super corridor was launched in 1996.
Conceived as a key engine of growth and Malaysia's principal vehicle to leapfrog from the
industrial to the information age. While computerization programme is in both the public
and private sectors had been ongoing for several decades, it was with the MSC that Malaysia
caught the attention of the world with its unique initiative, to create an entire "cyber region"
and a base for lower class technology, multimedia and content industry.
The MSC, planned identified seven flagship applications for priority development. These
applications are divided into two categories, multimedia development and multimedia
environment.
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
26/58
Page 26 of 58
Electronic government
The objective is to transform the workings of government at improving the way it operates
internally, and how it provides services to the public. The lead is stimulation administrative
modernization and management planning unit.
Multipurpose card
Malaysia launched the world's first national smartcard to improve the ease of transacting
with government agencies and private sector companies. The multipurpose card or MPC
contains the owner's identity code and electronic signature in a plastic card with an
embedded microprocessor chip. It allows a multitude of transactions such as personal
identification, driving licence, passport information, health application, as well as cash
withdrawal and payment. The government MPC known as my card was launched in early
2002. The central bank of Malaysia is the lead is for the deployment of this flagship.
Smart schools
In order to nurture a technologically attract and thinking workforce that will be critical to
transform Malaysia into a knowledge-based economy, the smart schools flagship publication
was implemented to totally revamp teaching and learning practices and processes, while
addressing all aspects of school management. The lead the Ministry of education.
Telehealth
The goal of this flagship application is to promote major as a regional centre for
telemedicine. This will be achieved by providing greater access to, and increased knowledge
on, health care. The flagship also encourages individuals to manage their own personal
health, and integrates information to allow smooth flow of products and services
throughout the health-care system. Roll clinics will be linked with medical experts in the city
and renowned clinics worldwide, using new tele-instruments for remote diagnosis. The lead
agency is the Ministry of Health.
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
27/58
Page 27 of 58
R&D Cluster
It has long been recognized that research and development is critical to the support of
Malaysia's goal to be a developed nation. This flagship was developed to help ensure that
the MSC becomes an attractive location for companies seeking to develop next-generation
multimedia technologies and innovation is it tries to foster collaborative efforts among
leading research and development firms, local universities and public research institutions,
as well as supporting the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises on SMEs. The lead
agency is the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment.
The next two flagships were individually introduced. But because of their complementary
nature, were later combined into what was called the "e-business cluster".
The worldwide manufacturing web
This flagship strives to position Malaysia as a preferred location for manufacturing firms to
locate your pumps to support and control their manufacturing operations in the region more
efficiently and cost effectively. The objective is to develop a conducive environment for high
value-added manufacturing and related services, i.e. R&D, design, engineering, logistics
support, manufacturing control, procurement and distribution. The lead agency is the
Ministry of International trade and industry.
Borderless marketing centre.
This flagship leverage is on technology to enable business to transcend traditional barriers of
time, space for two better serve their customers. It is an initiative to spearhead the growth of
multimedia-based service industries in the MSC, with emphasis telemarketing online
information services, electronic commerce and digital broadcasting. The lead agency is the
multimedia development Corporation.
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
28/58
Page 28 of 58
The Electronic Government Flagship
Electronic government or the government is one of the flagship applications of the MSC
project. Broadly, the goal is to improve both how the government operates internally, and
how it delivers services to the people of Malaysia. It seeks to improve the convenience,
accessibility and quality of interactions with citizens and businesses; it aims to improve
information flows and processes within government to enhance the speed and quality of
policy development, coordination and enforcement.
The Malaysian vision of electronic government is "for government, businesses and citizens
to work together for the benefit of the country and all its citizens." It is envisaged that this
vision will be realized when, through the use of ICT and multimedia, government agencies
become more efficient and effective in the delivery of public services, and consequently
more responsive to the needs of the citizens.
The e-Government vision is directly applicable in three broad areas:
Public/business to government.
Service access (IT one-stop, single point of contact, multiple delivery channels,multilingual).
Service quality (high-quality, reliability, security/privacy, accountability) Service delivery (efficiency/quick turnaround time, cost effective/productive).
Intra-agency.
Improved process. Enhanced profile People development.
Inter-agency.
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
29/58
Page 29 of 58
Enhance the capability of government machinery in engineering, the success of the e-government initiatives.
Provide government agencies and the general public access to information on theprogress of the e-government initiatives.
Provide a model of best practices in interactive multimedia information, collectionand dissemination.
Utilise IT to enhance processes in the public sector.
The e-government initiative is spearheaded by MAMPU. It has envisioned its e-government
initiative is being to drive public services towards excellence., and its mission is to bring
changes in the public administration services to achieve high quality, efficient, effective and
strong management, in line with the national goals.
Five pilot projects were identified as the first wave of e-government, namely, the Generic
Office Environment (GOE), e-Procurement, Human Resource Management Information
System (HRMIS), Project Monitoring System (PMS) and e-Services. These projects were
selected both for the impact as well as to showcase different aspects of e-government.
Generic Office Environment (GOE)
The Generic Office Environment is essentially an online resource management system which
allows communications between civil servants, online collaboration, and document
management and sharing. It includes a few modules two of which are an internal instant
messaging (IM) System, a document management system, and an electronic meeting and
bulletin board.
Project Monitoring System (PMS)
The Project Monitoring System is designed to provide a mechanism for the planning,
controlling and monitoring of development projects in an integrated manner. It will provide
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
30/58
Page 30 of 58
accurate and timely capture of project information and also ensure that up-to-date
information is available in variety of formats to enable management at all levels to analyze,
forecast and prepare reports for development projects. PMS is an on-line end-to-end project
monitoring system creating a collaborative environment for better management of
development projects. It has been implemented nationwide across 24 ministries.
Electronic Labour Exchange
In 1999, a sixth pilot e-government project was added, the Electronic Labour Exchange
(ELX). In any country, the lifeblood of the economy is its workforce. Recognizing this, the
Malaysian government saw the potential of using ICT to enhance the management of its
workforce. This came in the form of an Electronic Labour Exchange or ELX. ELX aims at
improving the coordination and mobilization of the nation's human resources by acting as a
one-stop centre for labour market information that will be accessible to the public, both
locally and overseas, including Malaysian students abroad and potential foreign investors.
e-Syariah
This application was built for the Islamic Justice Department, the body responsible for
Islamic legal issues (as opposed to Civil) in Malaysia. It was rolled out in April 2002. In
essence it is a monitoring and reporting system which enables the Islamic Justice
Department to monitor its various agencies and ensure the efficient flow of information
between its Islamic courts.
Singapore
Singapore e-Government has always been very strong. In fact Singapores IT journey has
been a long one staring in the early 1980s when the government saw the increasing
importance of IT to economic development, and formed the National Computer Board
(NCB). There have been a series of multi-year plans to build and strengthen the IT
foundations of the country over the years. The current masterplan is one that began some
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
31/58
Page 31 of 58
five years ago, called iN2015 (or Intelligent Nation 2015). This is a multi-faceted plan that
involves government, private sector, academia and citizen groups, and cuts across many
industries, with the underlying goal of exploring how ICT will help each industry be more
innovative, productive and successful.
The latest phase in Singapores series of IT masterplans was launched in 2006 and it is called
Intelligent Nation 2015 (iN2015). The Intelligent Nation 2015 (iN2015) is a 10-year
masterplan with the vision to build Singapore into An Intelligent Nation, A Global City,
Powered by Infocomm.
Figure 3 Singapore i-Gov Masterplan. Source: IDA
From IDA website: iGov2010 is the Singapore Government's five-year masterplan that leverages
infocomm to continue to delight our customers and citizens. To achieve this vision, four thrusts have
been identified: Increasing Reach and Richness of e-Services; Increasing Citizens Mindshare in e-
Engagement; Enhancing the Capacity and Synergy in Government; and Enhancing the National
Competitive Advantage.
The action plans for e-Government have evolved in tandem with each National IT plan to bring about
exciting changes to the way Singapore Government works, interacts and serves the public.
Championing ICT adoption in the government sector are the e-Government Policies & Programmes
Division (ePPD) and the Government Infrastructure & Technology Division (GITD). Together they
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
32/58
Page 32 of 58
architect and plan government infrastructures that meets the changing needs of the public service,
and manage cum operate these infrastructures efficiently and effectively.
Under the e-Government Action Plan II, infocomm technologies had enabled both local and overseas
citizens to stay connected and engaged with Singapore. Accessing public information, participating in
public policy consultations and providing feedback to Government can now all be done online with
ease. Our iGov2010 efforts will continue to complement existing non-electronic service delivery
initiatives and take the Government-citizen relationship to the next level, one where citizens are
actively engaged in the policy-making process.
To achieve these, online information need to be clear and useful and presented in a vibrant and
interesting manner. The Singapore Government Online Portal www.gov.sg the gateway to all
Government information and e-services - will have an improved look-and-feel, better content search
facilities and clearer presentation of information on Government policies and services. For example,
illustrations and bite-size video snippets could be used to bring across messages in a more vivid
manner. In addition, the effectiveness and appeal of online Government channels need to be enhanced
to attract citizens to participate in online exchanges and provide feedback to the Government.
Besides engaging citizens in policy-making and reviews, online channels will also be leveraged to
foster greater bonding within different communities such as youths. The Youth Portal, Youth.sg, set
up in 25th February 2006, is a first stop resource portal for community participation, and a virtual
space for young Singaporeans who want to make a difference to the people around them. Youth.sg
offers young Singaporeans easy access to information on how to start their own community activities,
as well as information on initiatives that fellow youth are engaged in.
To continually meet the challenge of doing more with less, we need to improve the capacity of public
agencies and public officers through greater sharing of processes, data, and systems across the
Government.
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
33/58
Page 33 of 58
The Singapore Government Enterprise Architecture (SGEA), a blueprint to identify potential
business areas for inter-agency collaboration, will lead the way to reap greater efficiencies. It will also
set data and application standards to facilitate sharing of information and systems across agencies.
An instantiation of SGEA would be the consolidation of common Finance and Human Resource
services to public agencies under VITAL.org - Centre for Shared Services to bring about greater
economies of scale for the public sector.
Infocomm will also be exploited to transform the way public officers work, and to create solutions that
address the common challenges they face. For example, we can leverage on mobile technologies to
allow officers to work from anywhere and deploy collaborative desktop tools to support work across
departments and agencies. By 2010, a service-wide Standard ICT Operating Environment (SOE)
will also be implemented to derive significant cost savings while enhancing operating efficiency. This
will make it easier to maintain and roll out new applications to all desktops, and establish a stronger
corporate identity.
We will also foster an environment that encourages innovative use of Infocomm and continue to
invest in innovative application of new technologies to reap the full benefits that Infocomm has to
offer. (IDA, 2005)
E-Government in ASEAN
Case Study: Facilitating Trade with the ASEAN Single Window
One of the major regional projects within the ASEAN context involves the area of logistics
and transportation, specifically customs clearance. Currently, each member country has their
own system of customs clearance, be it paper based or electronic. Because of this, there are
bottlenecks which occur when goods cross borders and customs clearance procedures of
both the shipping and receiving country have to be completed before these goods reach their
destination.
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
34/58
Page 34 of 58
Customs law is of course the prerogative of each sovereign nation, but because of the need
to accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region
through joint endeavours in the spirit of equality and partnership in order to strengthen the
foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian Nations and as
part of the Ministers commitment to the six pillars of the e-ASEAN initiative, it was deemed
necessary to look at how ICT could be harnessed to speed up logistics between the member
countries.
According to its website, The ASEAN Single Window, when fully implemented in 2012,
will speed up the clearance of shipments and the release of goods by customs authorities in
the ASEAN region. Through synchronizing the interventions of the government agencies,
traders, shippers, forwarders, transport operators and other parties, customs authorities aim
to clear containerised shipments within 30 minutes, a target set in the Strategic Plan of
Customs Development. Currently, clearance can take up to five days.
Businesses will benefit from the cut in transaction costs and time, and greater predictability
in administrative customs procedures. Consumers will enjoy more secure and timely
delivery of goods at a lower cost.
Herein lies the need for political will. For this regional single window to work, all member
countries must implement their own national single windows first. A National Single
Window is a clearance system that enables a single submission of information and data,
single and simultaneous processing of the data, and a single point of decision-making
through close collaboration among the lines ministries and other parties involved in the
customs clearance process.
The ASEAN Single Window will be in operation when all the ten National Single Windows
are operating in an integrated manner. For instance, if a container of goods destined for
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
35/58
Page 35 of 58
Malaysia first enters ASEAN through Thailand, a trader only has to submit the required
data once to a centralized hub and the information would then be automatically shared and
processed among the relevant agencies.
Under the 2005 Agreement to Establish and Implement the ASEAN Single Window, and its 2006
Protocol, the ASEAN Single Window will be implemented in Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand by 2008, and in Cambodia, Lao PDR,
Myanmar and Viet Nam by 2012. (ASEAN Secretariat, 2007)
Methodology
The data-gathering methodology selected for this study is the email interview. This
methodology was selected due to various factors, the main ones being related to cost, time,
and range of participants.
Advantages of the E-mail Interview
There are numerous advantages of using an e-mail interview rather than a face-to-face
interview.
Cost. The email interview is perhaps the cheapest option among all qualitativemethods as there is hardly any travelling involved because most of the interview is
conducted online. In terms of materials and equipment, there is also less need as all
that is required is a PC and an internet connection, both ubiquitous items commonly
available at this time.
Range of participants. A researcher is likely to be able to interview a wider range ofparticipants from a greater range of geographic locations as opposed to face to face
interviews where the geographic locations may become unviable due to the cost of
travel and time taken to reach the participants locations.
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
36/58
Page 36 of 58
Time for reflection. Email interviews allow the respondent time to reflect on thequestion and formulate their answers accordingly. Even after formulating their
responses, the interviewee still has time to reflect upon those answers, review, and
edit them if necessary. In a face to face interview which happens in real-time, this is
not usually possible. The same applies to the researcher when he/she receives the
responses from the interviewee. He/she can also has more time to read the responses
and reflect on them and perhaps formulate new questions if need be.
Rapport. One of the main ingredients of a good interview is rapport between theparticipant and the interviewer. This rapport takes time to build and obviously
cannot be established within a brief one or two hour face-to-face interview. It is
therefore ideal here in terms of establishing rapport that the email interview can take
much longer as this rapport can be built up over that time.
Overcoming interviewer effects. Face-to-face interviews might be affected by thepersonal visual characteristics of the interviewer or the participant. Conducting an
interview via e-mail helps avoid any visual effects.
Disadvantages of the E-Mail Interview
Although there are clear benefits to the use of an e-mail interview, benefits that in some
circumstances out- weigh the disadvantages, these disadvantages do exist.
Problems with the sample. One of the biggest challenges in conducting emailinterviews is identifying a suitable sample, which in the case of this paper, consists of
e-government practitioners from ASEAN member countries, both from the public
and private sector. These are mid to high level individuals who are very busy with
their daily job and so one of the biggest uncertainties is the question of whether they
will have the time to participate in the interview or not. In terms of representation,
there also needs to be a balance in the sample, i.e. participants need to come from the
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
37/58
Page 37 of 58
three countries identified. In the case that responses are not received from
participants from a particular country, the sample will become biased. This needs to
be reflected in the paper at some point.
Another major problem with the sample is that researchers cannot be certain that
they are interviewing the person they think they are interviewing. In the case of this
paper for instance, the interview questions are targeted at policy-makers and
implementers of e-government programs but the intended participant may delegate
the task to his or her subordinates to complete the questionnaires and there is no way
of verifying who the answers came from.
The interview takes too long and loses focus. Because of the asynchronous nature ofthe medium, an email interview can often take quite a long time as the participants
may or may not check their email for several days at a time due to other priorities or
perhaps simply due to a lack of access. Worse still, the interviewer may also be trying
to conduct several interviews at once and thus take time to respond to the
participant, or he/she may not have access to email for extended periods and thus
responses to the participants may take some time. The risk here is that the participant
may lose interest in the interview and eventually drop-out. It is unfortunate that
under these circumstances the researcher is left with a partially completed interview,
about which a decision must be made regarding whether the information can be
used in subsequent analyses.
Ethical issues. Here one has to decide as to when would be the right time to followup with the participant on their responses to the interview questions. If it is too soon,
it may be construed as harassment. The types of questions needs to also be taken into
consideration as some participants may find certain lines of questioning sensitive, or
even offensive. This may lead to the participant withdrawing from the interview, in
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
38/58
Page 38 of 58
some cases, without the knowledge of the interviewer. This will cause problems,
particularly if the interviewer is under time constraints. In cases like these, the
interviewer needs to make a judgment call on whether or not to continue the
interview or to use the data collected thus far in the subsequent analysis.
Working with a set of interviews simultaneously. Another disadvantage of theemail interview arises due to the nature of email itself. Email allows us to conduct
several interviews at once since it is an asynchronous mode of communication. This
means that both parties need not be present at the same time during the interview.
Effectively, this allows one to conduct several interviews at the same time. This
multi-tasking may lead to an overload of information for the interviewer who may
eventually forget which piece of information came from where, particularly if the
interviewer is a disorganized person!
Missing nonverbal cues. Another problem with the email interview is the fact thatwe are unable to see each other (as opposed to an online interview over a video
conferencing program like Skype for instance). This means that we are unable to
catch nonverbal cues like mannerisms and facial expressions which can tell a lot
more than just what the interviewee is saying.
Impersonality. The email interview does not allow for a personal touch between theinterviewer and interviewee as it takes place online where both parties need not be
present at the same time. The question here is whether or not this allows people to be
more open and willing to communicate, or does the fact that it occurs online make
the interviewee more closed and unwilling to disclose as much as he/she would if
the interview were face-to-face, or on the other hand, does it allow them to disclose
other types of information in addition to that provided during the face-to-face
interview.
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
39/58
Page 39 of 58
Design
The design issues that apply to any interview study apply here. The research question
should drive the design of the interview protocol and the selection of participants. There are,
however, some differences that must be accounted for. The interview protocol might not be
the same as for face-to-face interview, and the questions might be presented in a different
manner. Although there is a need for further research to establish the efficacy of the different
approaches, interviewers can present a number of questions to the participant
simultaneously. That is not to say that the whole protocol should be presented. After all, in
many studies the interviewer wants to provide participants with the freedom to answer as
they wish rather than be constrained by a predetermined set of questions. It might be
beneficial to present three or four questions simultaneously to encourage broader and more
detailed answers, and to show the participant what it is that the interviewer is trying to
understand. In a face-to-face interview, these issues can be explained through allowing a
discussion between interviewer and participant both before and during the interview. This
is not possible in an email interview (Hunt & McHale, 2007).
Based on the above design guidelines, questions were derived from the research questions
which were:
What are the socio-political motives for ASEAN nation states to adopt andimplement e-government initiatives?
Does e-government help to strengthen the authoritarian state and augment centralauthority?
Does e-government help to eliminate corruption and other questionable practices byincreasing transparency and bolstering accountability?
Why do some e-government initiatives focus on service provision, while othersemphasize participation?
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
40/58
Page 40 of 58
To what degree do the various national e-government policies in ASEAN convergein terms of formulation of aims, and implementation?
In the ASEAN context, has September 11th caused a major shift in the perception ofe-government from a tool for increasing the convenience of government service
provision, facilitating administrative reform and furthering democratic participation
to a tool of defense against terrorist threats?
Some of the above questions, if asked directly, may be deemed sensitive, particularly in the
target countries which have authoritarian/semi-authoritarian governments. Taking this into
account, it was necessary to structure the questionnaire in a rather less direct manner. It was
decided that general questions about e-government policy and strategy in the country be
asked first in order to get the participant comfortable with the subject matter. At the outset,
it needed to be made clear that this interview was not about the official rankings and
reviews of the interviewees national e-government strategy and programs.
The questions derived were as follows:
1. Putting aside all the official global and regional rankings, how do you think your governmentis faring so far with its e-government strategy?
2. What do you think has changed in terms of government service delivery since theimplementation of the various e-government projects?
3. How has the take-up been for these e-services?4. Which e-services have been particularly successful in terms of implementation and take-up?
Why do you think they have been so successful?
5. What is your governments approach in terms of formulating its national e-governmentstrategy?
6. Are there any particular national objectives that are critical in this process, for instancemaintaining national security, sovereignty etc?
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
41/58
Page 41 of 58
7. When formulating e-government strategy and subsequent programs and projects, are thereany political considerations which are taken into account?
8. What has been the impact of these political and regulatory factors on e-government initiativesin your country?
9. The tragic events of September 11, 2001 caused a major shift in the perception of e-government from a tool for increasing the convenience of government service provision,
facilitating administrative reform and furthering democratic participation to a tool of defense
against terrorist threats. Do you think this is the case with your government as well?
10.What are some of the best practices that can be discerned from the experiences of your
government in terms of e-government policy formulation and implementation?
The order of the questions was carefully thought out as mentioned so as not to come across
as too direct. Questions directly related to the research were interspersed with questions of a
general nature. For example, questions 1 to 4 are of a more general nature which are
designed to open-up the participant to writing about the subject matter. Question 5 to 9
are more directly related to the research, and the final question again gives the participant
an opportunity to highlight the success stories in his/her experience with e-government
projects in his/her country. The words were also carefully selected for the same reason. The
number of questions was also limited to 10 in order to maintain the participants focus on
the task.
Sample Selection
With regards to sample selection, several criteria were taken into account to make sure that
the sample respondents would give a broad enough range of responses to show some
patterns which point towards the hypothesis or otherwise. One of the critical factors that
had to be considered was whether these participants would be able to respond in a timely
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
42/58
Page 42 of 58
manner as among the potential participant were busy e-government practitioners including
high level civil servants, CEOs of government owned ICT companies, and academics.
Among the criteria considered for selection of participants were their level of involvement in
the formulation of e-government strategy (as opposed to specific projects), their level within
their organizations (for the purposes of this study, a macro birds eye view was sought
rather than a micro detailed account of government policy), their seniority (as most of these
policies would have been implemented with medium to long term objectives in mind so a
certain degree of institutional memory was being sought as well), and their level of
involvement in the organizations day-to-day activities (as this would affect their ability to
respond to the questionnaire).
Administration
The email questionnaires were sent out to the participants together with a short email
explaining the purpose of the questionnaire and in cases where referrals were sought,
mentioning the referrer as well. A sample email is shown below:
I was referred to you by one of our mutual friends, James Yong from Cisco who highly
recommended you as someone who could assist me.
My name is Reeda and I am currently at the tail end of a one year sabbatical doing my MA in
New Media and Society. I am currently writing my dissertation which focuses primarily on
the socio-political rationale behind national e-government strategies and their subsequent
programs and projects.
As part of my data collection, I am doing a series of email interviews with e-government
practitioners from 3 ASEAN countries, Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore.
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
43/58
Page 43 of 58
I would be grateful if you could spare some time to participate in my research by answering
the questions attached. I may follow this interview up with further questions if necessary.
Thanking you in advance for your participation and I look forward to receiving your
invaluable insights into e-government in Malaysia.
The email interview proved to be quite a challenge in terms of getting timely responses and
in hindsight, should be used only when time is not an issue. A total of 12 emails were sent
out to four respondents from each of the target countries, Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Out of these, 5 responses were received. 3 from Brunei, and 1 each from Singapore and
Malaysia. The average time taken for responses were between 1 to 6 weeks. This was
expected as the respondents were busy individuals who had little time to spare and so it was
fortunate that some of the respondents were actually able to respond within that 6 week
time frame.
Some of the respondents actually replied to the email questionnaire requesting that the
interview be conducted face to face instead. Although some of the interviews were then
subsequently conducted face to face, it was decided that there were marked differences in
the responses due to the factors outlined under the methodology chapter above.
Furthermore, the data was recorded in audio form. As such, the data collected was not used
in this discussion and analysis.
One of the biggest challenges in identifying potential respondents was whether or not they
were likely to respond to the email. In order to increase the chances of getting a response,
referrals were sought from an existing network of contacts both within the governments of
these countries and also those within the ICT industries surrounding these governments. It
was hoped that with these referrals, the respondents would feel more at ease with the
questionnaire and be more likely to respond.
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
44/58
Page 44 of 58
To a certain extent, this strategy did work as responses were forthcoming from respondents
who were referred than those approached directly. Referrals also worked as due to mail
filters implemented by some of the emails to respondents, the email questionnaires would
have ended up in their junk email folders had it not been for the referrers email address
which was on the recipient list.
Discussion and Analysis
Most governments have realized over the years that a command and control or central
government knows best model doesnt work very well. The strategy development and
policy formulation process needs to involve more stakeholders. In developing the iN2015
masterplan, the Singapore government leveraged on a series of committees which
comprised leaders from government, private sector, academia and NGOs. E-Government,
indeed all national ICT initiatives, need to be deployed in alignment with national goals. ICT
is the means to an end, not the end in itself.
Most countries objectives fall into three or four categories: economic development, social
development, infrastructural (sometimes called national) development and public safety &
security. Thus the ICT plans need to be formulated to support the key metrics or sub-
objectives under each of these categories.
One of the interesting findings from this study was the different aspects of politics which
respondents perceived which were not necessarily within the purview of the research
question but nevertheless were deemed as important. For example, one respondent
perceived politics from within the government machinery instead of the public at large.
He said, Some ICT and e-Government programmes cross the electoral terms of political
leaders. There is a danger that when a new political party comes into power, the ICT
strategies and directions of the previous administration might be changed or funding
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
45/58
Page 45 of 58
reduced/discontinued. This may be disruptive. Agencies undertaking the strategic planning
for ICT and e-Government often need to be shrewd in their planning and consider their
deployment under different political scenarios.
Another aspect of politics is the differing strength or influence of different ministries. The
more influential ministries (typically Finance, Defence or Prime Ministers Office) usually
have inordinate degrees of influence over the ICT directions, which may or may not be for
the overall good of the country. Appointing an objective ICT Czar (or individual with
powers equal to a senior minister) is sometimes helpful to ensure that all relevant ICT
programmes receive requisite attention.
Why e-government?
According to one of the respondents, Haslina Taib, CEO of BAG Networks, there seems to
be an emphasis on the what and the how but not the why as indicated by her
response to how she thought her government was faring with its e-government strategy,
Depth of strategic directions : The strategy still focuses on the "what" and not the "how".
Discussions need to go to the third and fourth layer operationally down in order to break
down the strategy further. How do we synchronize people, technology and process for
mobilization of e government strategy for the benefit of non duplication, smart
procurement. Need leaders to instruct functional departments to go through the how's to
these three areas (people process and relevant technology) with experienced third parties.
There is also an emphasis on e-government being crucial for the economic development of
the country. As stated by another respondent, Ng Wan Peng, Chief Operating Officer,
Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), The government has been taking a
comprehensive approach to formulate an optimistic and realistic national e-Government
strategy that sets out specific goals and objectives for long term development and
-
7/31/2019 Why E-Government?
46/58
Page 46 of 58
contribution to the national agenda. The objective for e-government is to transform
administrative process and service delivery through the use of Information Communication
Technology (ICT) and multimedia. Multiple inputs and factors have been considered in the
formulation of the strategy and the implementation has been segmented into achievable
phases. The overall aim is also tied with the countrys vision to be a fully developed,
matured, balanced society and knowledge-rich Malaysia by the year 2020.
Perceptions Do Matter
When asked about their perception of e-government success in their countries, one
respondent interestingly replied, However, perception and general statements may not be
sufficient to gauge government achievement. Official global ranking is one of the good
measures to see where Malaysia stands in relative to other countries. Worth to mention as an
example, Malaysia ranks 11th out of 198 countries in the Brown University/Brooking e-
government ranking 2008.
In other words, the respondent is saying that on top of economic development, social
development, infrastructural (sometimes called national) development and public safety &
security, the pe