Goh De No Mar 27th, 2010
BRUNEI has bested Indonesia, Philippines and Cambodia among Southeast Asian countries surveyed for their readiness in using information communication technologies, according to a poll by the World Economic Forum.
According to the Global Information Technology report, Brunei retained its ranking from last year at 63 out of 133 countries outranking the other three Southeast Asian countries.
Amongst the regional neighbours, Singapore was the most networked economy scoring 5.64 cornering the second spot in the index, followed by Malaysia at 27th place.
Vietnam placed at 54 and Indonesia trailed closely behind Brunei at 67. The Philippines and Cambodia finished with rankings of 85 and 117.
A teacher guides students during an ICT camp in Belait in this file photo. Picture: BT/Jefrisalas
Sweden was ranked as the world’s most networked economy for 2010.
The so-called Networked Readiness Index looks at how prepared countries are in using information communication technologies by measuring the general environment for the technologies, the readiness of individuals to use them as well as their actual usage.
Brunei’s bid to improve its government agencies’ capabilities and to ensure effective public service delivery moved into high gear in 2008 with the opening of the e-Government National Centre.
After starting its operation, the centre will provide services in the aspects of operations, acquisition and human resource development in the field of information and communication technology, which are related to e-Government initiatives especially in the civil service, a previous statement from the Prime Minister’s Office stated.
The centre will assist government agencies in setting up their own ICT infrastructure and system that will further enhance their capabilities via the Internet.
Preparations for the setting up of a paperless government by various ministries and the drive towards achieving this goal will then be centralised and enhanced through the set-up of this new department.
Through this, government ministries and departments will be able to develop their own infrastructure, test and implement their initiatives with the assistance and guidance of the centre’s capabilities to ensure more reliable and efficient services.
Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office Dato Seri Paduka Eusoff Agaki Hj Ismail, who is also the chairman of the e-Government Leadership Forum in 2008, also welcomed private sector initiatives in leveraging on public-private partnerships to further enhance the delivery of e-Government services which would certainly expand the access and the delivery of public services to benefit citizens, businesses and employees.
The private sector was also urged to support and collaborate in ensuring the successful implementation of Brunei’s long-term e-Government strategic Master Plan.
The index is based on a few key points, including market and infrastructure environment, business readiness, government readiness, individual usage, business and government usage.
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