Throughout '97 I am living in Singapore and every so often will report on
link-relevant news to fellow linkers. As usual <g>, there is much going on
in the IT world in Singapore, including continuing moves to introduce
SingaporeOne, which is based on cable modem technology.
Perhaps more interesting, just at the moment, are the moves by Malaysia to
introduce the "Multimedia Super Corridor" (MSC). The Malaysian PM, Datuk
Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohammad has been in Silicon Valley and Japan selling the
concept.
An overview of the US component of the trip is at:
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,7163,00.html
I haven't looked but no doubt the San Jose Mercury will have reports as well.
A couple of articles in today's (Singapore) Straits Times are at
http://www.asia1.com.sg/straitstimes/pages/stmal2.html
which gives an overview of his discussions with Japanese IT leaders and
http://www.asia1.com.sg/straitstimes/pages/stmal3.html
which is entitled "Malaysia 'can compete with Singapore on IT'".
The MSC site is:
There is an overview of the MSC (reproduced below) at:
http://www.mdc.com.my/infras/overview/index.html
and a FAQ (also shown below) at:
http://www.mdc.com.my/faq/qa/index.html
What is interesting about the MSC are not only the inevitable (at least for
SE Asia) financial and tax incentives but also the moves to introduce a
legal framework to support the MSC and the "one stop shop" for interacting
with the bureaucracy.
Here is the overview:
The MSC is a 15-by-50 kilometre (9-by-30 mile) zone
extending south from Malaysia's present national
capital and business hub, Kuala Lumpur. The nation
has devoted this massive corridor - larger than
Singapore - to creating a perfect environment for
companies wanting to create, distribute, and employ
multimedia products and services. The MSC brings
together three key elements:
1. A high-capacity global telecommunications and
logistics infrastructure built upon the MSC's
2.5-10 gigabit digital optical fibre backbone
and a massive, new international airport.
2. New policies and cyberlaws designed to enable
and encourage electronic commerce, facilitate
the development of multimedia applications, and
position Malaysia as the regional leader in
intellectual property protection.
3. An attractive living environment in which
careful zoning plans integrate infrastructure
"mega-projects" with green reserves to create
environmentally friendly, "intelligent" urban
developments.
To speed the MSC's evolution, the Malaysian
Government has targeted seven multimedia
applications for development by the year 2000. These
Flagship Applications are: electronic government,
telemedicine, smart schools, a national multipurpose
card, R&D clusters, world-wide manufacturing webs,
and borderless marketing centres. The government is
seeking assistance from leading local companies to
develop and implement these applications.
Companies wanting to join the MSC can apply to the
MDC for "MSC Status". Companies with MSC Status are
entitled to operate tax free for up to 10 years or
receive a 100 per cent investment tax allowance, and
enjoy other incentives and benefits backed by the
Malaysian Government's Bill of Guarantees. The MSC
is the ideal platform for multimedia developers and
users to launch their export operations by
leveraging Malaysia's competitive strengths of
multiculturalism, political stability, and reliable
support services.
Here is the FAQ:
1. When will the MSC's multimedia network be in
place ?
2. When will the MSC's other infrastructure projects
be in place ?
3. What can I do here that I can't do in Silicon
Valley ?
4. How will I attract skilled staff ?
5. How easy is access to major business centres ?
6. What is the cost of telecoms and other necessary
operating costs ?
7. What ownership restrictions will be imposed on my
company ?
8. Is the legal environment restrictive ?
9. What will the lifestyle be like ? Will I want to
live there ? Will my employees want to live there
?
10. How stable is the Malaysian economic and
political landscape ?
11. What is the long-term commitment of the
government to the MSC ?
12. How many government agencies will I interact with
?
1. When will the MSC's multimedia network be in place
?
The fibre-optic backbone (with potential capacity of
2.5- 10 gigabit per second) will be in place by 1998.
There will also be high-bandwidth links from the MSC
to the rest of Malaysia and other countries, including
5 gigabit per second fibre-optic links to ASEAN,
Japan, the US and Europe in place by mid-1997.
2. When will the MSC's other infrastructure projects
be in place ?
Kuala Lumpur Tower, the region's tallest
telecommunications facility, is already operational.
Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the largest
airport in the region with 80 gates, is scheduled to
open in 1998 in time for the Commonwealth Games. Kuala
Lumpur City Centre is nearing completion (the twin
towers already dominate the KL skyline) and will be
ready for occupancy in 1997. The first phase of IT
City (working population of 16,000) is scheduled to be
completed by 1998.
3. What can I do here that I can't do in Silicon
Valley ?
Penetrate Asian markets. The Asian market is growing
rapidly with rising incomes, booming PC penetration
and expanding network infrastructures. The critical
differentiators and idiosyncrasies of each market
cannot be "virtually" analysed, internalised and met
by firms in far-off locations who do not have a
committed presence on the ground in Asia. Personal
relationships remain important in Asia and this
requires overseas companies to select a regional hub
for a physical presence.
With the best environment in the world for harnessing
the benefits of multimedia, the MSC offers the one
thing Silicon Valley can never provide: a low-cost,
central and influential base in Asia, from which to
penetrate Asian markets using leading-edge multimedia
technologies and applications.
4. How will I attract skilled staff ?
The skilled workforce needs of companies in the MSC
will be met by a combination of
1. Unrestricted and user-friendly work permit
policies for foreign knowledge workers.
2. A dramatic increase in the number of technical
and business professionals graduating from
Malaysian universities.
3. A growing number of technical graduates from the
MSC's new Multimedia University and the MSC
campuses of top IT universities.
4. Creation of university-company partnerships to
educate and train potential employees in specific
skills. These factors will be reinforced by the
development of eco-friendly, cost-effective and
convenient world-class living environments in the
MSC. The projects to build these environments
(such as Cyberjaya and the Kuala Lumpur City
Centre) are already well under way. This superb
living environment will attract technical
professionals from across Malaysia and the rest
of the world to locate in the MSC.
5. How easy is access to major business centres ?
Via telecoms, the MSC will have 5 gigabit per second
fibre-optic links to hubs in ASEAN, Japan, the US and
Europe, enough bandwidth to handle multimedia
conferencing as well as traditional, high-quality
voice communications.
Via physical transport, Kuala Lumpur International
Airport (open in 1998) will have the capacity to
handle 25 million passengers per annum through its 80
gates and two parallel runways, up to 60 million
passengers by 2020. It will also have the capacity to
handle over 1 million metric tonnes of cargo to and
from major centres in Asia and the rest of the world.
In addition, high-speed road and rail links will
provide efficient access to the four main seaports
­ Penang, Port Kelang, Kuantan and Pasir Gudang
­ across Peninsular Malaysia.
6. What is the cost of telecoms and other necessary
operating costs ?
The MSC is committed to providing world-class
telecoms, linked to all global business centres, with
the most cost-competitive and innovative tariffs.
Costs will compete with US telecoms rates and special
time- or distance-independent tariff structures will
be developed for MSC companies.
7. What ownership restrictions will be imposed on my
company ?
None. Traditional ownership restrictions will be
lifted within the MSC to accelerate the growth of the
MSC and enhance its attractiveness to world-class
companies.
8. Is the legal environment restrictive ?
In accordance with the Bill of Guarantees, the
policies and laws of the MSC are being designed to
make it the best environment in the world to harness
the benefits of multimedia technologies and
applications. The laws that will be enforced will make
Malaysia the regional leader in intellectual property
protection and free information exchange.
Founding companies will have an influential role in
continuing to shape the development of the MSC's
world-first "cyber-laws" and other business policies.
Over 150 detailed interviews have been conducted with
multimedia / IT companies to understand their
requirements. The Bill of Guarantees and cyber-laws
reflect this input.
9. What will the lifestyle be like ? Will I want to
live there ? Will my employees want to live there ?
Cyberjaya, the major living community development in
the MSC, is located amongst rolling hills of
rainforests and plantations set off by many natural
lakes. Strict zoning policies will preserve the
environmental beauty and air quality of this
eco-friendly development, powered by solar and other
zero-emission urban waste energy sources.
There will be a choice of hillside mansions, lakefront
houses and condominiums to suit family needs, while
first-class, resort-style hotels and serviced
apartments accommodate business professionals in
transit. There will be convenient shopping and
excellent recreational facilities, as well as short
and easy commutes to KL Tower, KLCC, Putrajaya and
KLIA.
10. How stable is the Malaysian economic and
political
landscape ?
Extremely stable. Since independence in 1957, Malaysia
has been led by the National Front party, which has
the strong support of the populace, having led the
nation through spectacular and equitable phases of
economic growth based on its development initiatives
in agriculture in the 1960s and in
manufacturing/industrialisation in the 1970s and 80s.
The MSC is the latest initiative to once again
leapfrog the economy to leadership in the Information
Age. As such, the MSC also enjoys the widespread
popularity and support of the Malaysian people.
11. What is the long-term commitment of the
government to the MSC ?
The Prime Minister and Cabinet have embraced the MSC
concept and are communicating it throughout the
country and overseas. In Malaysia, this has triggered
an avalanche of interest by private developers and
state governments. In the MSC area, several multimedia
developments are already underway and numerous
companies are submitting applications to begin
operations there. Select early-movers will have direct
access to Malaysia's leaders through the International
Advisory Panel, which is chaired by the Prime
Minister, and the Founders' Council.
12. How many government agencies will I interact with
?
One. The Multimedia Development Corporation's key role
is to serve MSC companies as its clients as the
one-stop shop responsible for maintaining all aspects
of the MSC's ideal environment, business and
otherwise. It will combine the efficiency and
effectiveness of a private company with the
decision-making authority of a high-powered government
agency.
-- Roger Debreceny, Southern Cross University, PO Box 157, Lismore, NSW Australia but currently living in Singapore rdebrece@scu.edu.au rdebrece@mbox2.singnet.com.sg AusWeb97, the Third Australian World Wide Web Conference, 5-9 July http://ausweb.scu.edu.au/