Chapter Two Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor

IT and Development  Implications of Underdevelopment  Hollowing Out  What to Do about Development?  The Role of Technology  Malaysia’s Solution

Malaysia

Implications of Underdevelopment  Economic: Low Incomes  Social: Collapse of Social Structures  Cultural: Marginalization of traditional values; importation of foreign ones  Commercial: Lack of secondary, tertiary industry  Human Resource: Drain of talent

Local logistics; global distribution Consumers Hollowing Out Distributors Goods and Services Creators No local source of goods or services Wealth and skills International Sources

What to Do about Development?  Modernization Theory  Dependency Theory  The Role of Technology  The Role of Information Technology  The US Solution  Some Existing Solutions: Singapore, Japan, China, Mexico (Maquiladoras)

IT-led Development Economic Payoffs Employment, Productivity and Economic Growth IT Diffusion IT Production and Use Environmental Factors Industrial Policy Industry Structure Education & Skills Technology Policy Infrastructure Indigenous vs. MNC R&D Political, Social and Economic Environment

The Malaysian Solution  Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC)  Leapfrogging  Components  Role of Government  Regional Comparisons

The Malaysian Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC)  Has NATIONAL backing, international consulting support  Intention is to make Malaysia a “first world” country by 2020 by leapfroging Malaysia into the Information Age  With the MSC, Malaysia can achieve world status in multimedia industries within five years  This is a gift from the Malaysian government to: »Technology developers and users »Malaysians wanting their country to prosper »Neighboring countries that wish to partner with a technology hub

What Does “First World” Mean wrt Technology? Proportions of Populations That Use the Internet (1999 – very obsolete) USA22.39 %Taiwan2.21 % Hong Kong12.98 %Malaysia0.67 % Japan9.15 %Thailand0.22 % Singapore3.82 %Philippines0.11 % S. Korea3.26 %Indonesia0.04%

The Comparison of MSC With Other Similar Ventures  Emulates Singapore’s efforts with Portnet  MSC is an “integrated” approach to nation building around a theme.  Social engineering is an inherent aspect of this proposal  From agrarian colonial to world technological leadership in two generations  Components include new capital, airport, not just IT  Each country in SE Asia is attempting something similar with similar tools.

How to Change??? Level of Economic Growth Political System Culture Key MIS Management Issues Multinational Business and IT Strategy Organizational and Departmental Success Note Figure 2, pg. 21. Does this still apply and how shall we alter it? Include discussions of other countries we have had. UPDATE!! Click HERE to see what the MSC project is up to now.HERE