Open University Malaysia: ICT Impact and Challenges in Malaysia

This project provides a comprehensive analysis of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Malaysia. It begins by defining ICT and its various components, emphasizing its role in unified communications, automation, and access to information. The project explores the importance of ICT in education, development, and environmental stability, highlighting its impact on Malaysia's society and economy. It discusses the government's initiatives, the growth of the ICT sector, and the challenges faced, such as the digital divide and language barriers. The project also examines the latest trends in ICT, including digital content development, e-learning, and e-commerce. Furthermore, the project addresses the Malaysian Productivity Blueprint and the role of the government in supporting the sub-sector growth. The project concludes by outlining guidelines for addressing the challenges and ensuring the effective implementation of ICT in Malaysia, emphasizing the need for a supportive social environment and improved cooperation among organizations. The project is a detailed overview of ICT's impact and future in Malaysia.

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ICT is one extension concept for ICT that emphasizes the function of unified
communications and computer-based automation, and a significant enterprise applications,
middleware, storage and visual audio system that enables users to access, archive,
communicate and manipulate information technology (Alam, Omar & Hashim, 2011).
The term ICT is used to refer to audiovisual convergences and telephone networks
with computer networks via a single cable connection system. ICT is a kind of umbrella term
that encompasses communication devices, including radio, TV, cell phone, computers and
network equipment, satellite systems and so on, and a number of devices and services, such
as video conferencing and distance learning (Jehangir, Dominic, Naseebullah and Khan,
2011).
ICT is a broad subject, and ideas change as well. It includes all items held in
electronic and digital form for retrieval of knowledge. Philosopher Piyush Mathur, one of the
many models for defining and managing ICT practitioners for the twenty-first century, has
seen theoretical differences among interpersonal communication technologies and mass
communication technologies. (Alam, & Noor, 2010).
Further the importance and the impact of ICT is discussed , Like electronic and
internet-based information technology (IT), information and communication technology
(ICT) is a technological term that includes IT and other kinds of audio, video and
dissemination encoding and networking, telephones, broadcast media and other media. ICT is
therefore a broader term that reflects on the role of information technology communication.
The phone networks are combined together in a single cable or connection to improve
connectivity in a seamless and convenient way through computer networks and required
applications. In this sense, ICT provides a range of new possibilities and career opportunities
to pursue (Lateh, & Muniandy, 2010).

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The ICTs are the engines of the world of learning. They offer fresh and quicker ways
to deliver and access information, creative ways to connect in real time, new business
approaches and livelihoods. Further material is passed into the public domain through
technology. Innovations in ICT authorize material absorption and use. ICT allows fast
knowledge position and entry, offers the users the option of choosing the details they require,
of assimilating, of spreading and of sharing new information (Alazzam, Bakar, Hamzah, R.,
& Asimiran, 2012).
The ICT encourages the public and private sectors to be available and to have stronger
contact. The six above influences are the main drivers of a community rich in knowledge or
information. It portrays a society with access to information, informed information and
technology, which recognizes the importance ICT plays in its everyday lives, which is
enabled by good communication and technological infrastructure, and has also access to the
necessary information.
Importance of ICT includes, Significance of Information and Communication
Technology. The first one is in education, The incorporation of ICT in the curriculum helps
students leverage tools and grow students ' priorities successfully in their research. The use of
high-quality model simulation for presentations will inspire students to participate closely in
studies. In addition to information technology (IT) only, they can thus achieve higher scores
in other areas and identify different methods of using the required information in particular.
ICT is therefore becoming all the more relevant as early as possible so that students will
familiarize themselves with it, because it is not a one-time course and will be needed through
college and adulthood (Hashim, Razak, & Amir, 2011).
The next is Development; ICT approaches offer a variety of jobs and leisure options
because of their strong flexibility and affordability. Corporate groups profit from ICT in

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shaping and making the best use of untapped resources. In addition, because of fast ICT
access to telecom services, remote areas have been developed, which leads to socio-economic
development. Mobile banking and Internet services are also available. Communicating and
communicating with friends has also been limited to merely email, e-mail or video
conferencing over long distances.
The last one is Environmental Stability, To order to improve the living standard of
the community, ICT is used in particular in environmental monitoring programs. Individuals
with profound understanding of environmental processes are qualified in the same and
different ways. Such communication obstacles, such as the use of film and radio, are
demolished. They can also bridge the gap between climate and growth.

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Further the following discussion will be about the impact of ICT in Malaysia, In the
society of Malaysia is willing to take advantage of ICT and its advantages. The study on the
basis of general and technical understanding of the population showed that Malaysia's output
is very close to the ethnic groups, as a consequence of a national survey, that Malaysian
community is not too badly involved in the knowledge of the importance of technology as
well as science in enhancing their everyday life result of various researched showed that the
people of Malaysia score an average of 54.9% when compared to the other countries,
Malaysia indicated that ICT is an important thing, while some of the other countries feels
that computer builds more jobs and positive attitude (Lateh, & Muniandy, 2010).
Lot of researches shows that Malaysia is not aware about the current available
infrastructure, but it is not true. Nevertheless, the studies show that Malaysian society is not a
knowledge-based Malay community based on information and communications technology.
In their daily lives, ICT an alphabets learn about the sense of IT. We are very aware of the
current problems in society and the knowledge sources available today on the sector.
Communication through e-mail and content seeking is one of the main areas of ICT for
people who use the internet.
In this case, there is already promoting governance and the use of ICT to create an
informed community. Malaysia has a rich archive on its own literature, history, society,
technology and economy and the existing capital. Scholars from across the globe researching
on Malaysia's history, culture and literature will consider paradise in the old bookshop
collections (Arokiasamy, bin Abdullah, & Ismail, 2014).
The ICT sector in Malaysia continues to grow by 20.0% of the national gross national
product (GDP) in scale and delivery to market, albeit at a pace slower than the target rate.

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he Sector grew by 10.3% in 2017, adding RM 247.1 billion to the national economy, or
18.3% in 2017 as reported from the ICT Strategic Analysis of PIKOM 2018/2019, released in
November 2018. But it represented a small 0,1%-point growth in 2016 over 18,2% of GDP
(Lau, & Sim, 2010).
At this stage it should be noted that the 11th Malaysian Budget envisaged growth rates of
minimum 17.0% annually between 2016 and 2020 in order to reach a target of 20.0% for the
GDP contribution section.
With the prevailing growth rate, PIKOM expressed doubts before that by 2018 it was able to
achieve 19.0 percent of the domestic economy. The number is expected to reach 18,6% in
2018, 18,8% in 2019, and the 20,0% mark could only be reached by 2022 in line with
PIKOM estimates.
Ironically speaking, IDC is predicting that 21,0 percent of GDP would be in the sector
by 2022. Nevertheless, the latest measures are likely to put a stop to a growth slowdown
recently in order to establish Malaysia as a digital country driven by 4RWD, intelligent
technology, the IoT network, blockchain, cloud computing and artificial intelligence. We will
also think about the latest trends in these regions.
The development of digital content, e-learning, e-commerce, e-government and
ICTR&D can be broadly divided into ICT components in Malaysia (Asfar, & Zainuddin,
2015).
The ICT subsector of Malaysia is one of the biggest subsectors of the world.In 2017 the sub-
sector has seen a 8.4 percent (RM 71.1 billion) increase in value added, which is an increase
compared with 8.1 percent (RM 65.6 billion) in 2016, attributable to the 25th Productivity
Report 2017/2018.

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The strong rivalry amongst players in the industry is the explanation for the healthy
growth of the subsector. This environment has encouraged creativity and the production of
more useful goods (Azman, Salman, Razak, Hussin, Hasim, & Hassan, 2014).
Through promoting the training of inventions and I+D by financing schemes like the
MSC Design Grant (MGS) and the IGS, the government has played its key role in supporting
sub sector growth.
In output, 3.6 percent (valued at RM305,942) was improved in 2017, compared with
RM295,426 in 2016.
Better training and advancement, better working practices, recruitment for the right
jobs and additional financial and non-financial opportunities and incentive-led pay policies
are all contributing factors to productivity.
Ganesh Kumar Bangah, ICT Nexus Champion for the Malaysia Productivity Corporation
(MPC) states that "Many fields such as mobile apps have undergone a great deal of creativity
in Malaysia."

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"But there was not much creativity in this nation in other fields such as electronics. In
order to increase productivity in Malaysia for MPC organized talks and workshops for 25
years, set up educational programs, provided advisory and consulting services to improve
productivity, and granted awards to leading productivity research projects (Mahmud &
Ismail, 2010).
In the 2000s, MPC established benchmarking and best practices to explore how
productivity and creativity can be strengthened at national level.
The Malaysian Productivity Blueprint (MPB) was released in 2017 in order to further
boost productivity growth. There have been nine key subsectors, like ICT.
"It is very strong among users for IT adoption and e-commerce adoption. But the
emergence of small and medium-sized businesses is room for growth.
Moving ahead following are some of the challenges for the customer from ICT The
separation of information: the obstacle is the absence of software implementation and this
involves the lack of policies that allow the citizens to use the technologies or to add value to
the current technology as information pockets have evolved and the lack of communication
has such a high impact.
In order to find, check and manages details, the customers need to be highly skilled.
In order to implement ICT and growth, experts should be greatly enhanced of the internet tool
like the web robots, interactive portals and the search engines that can focus on managing the
data of Malaysia.
Failure to host content, gather it and handle it from the network requires a special
level of technical expertise in network literacy. The standard of computer skills and internet
navigation in developing and Malaysia has, until now, been small and this constitutes one of

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the main barriers to the transformation of Malaysia and its population into an information
society. The ICT skills should be distributed throughout the community and should be known
by everyone. In order to develop self-learning modules on machine processes, web browsing
and the local languages, education, private sector must also play a significant role.
Language barriers: there are nearly 2 million web pages every day, of which only the
minimal material in vernacular language is available on the net. Some figures also indicate
that 85% of material is in English on the Website. This has a major impact on the use of
important world data by a large number of people in the developing countries and also
countries that cannot interpret the material. By supplying the open source of the applications
for creating local content for localization purposes, privately owned companies will play an
important role. You can also change and wind down the structure of ICT to include voice
data and images. (Bohari, Hin, & Fuad, 2017).
Some of the guidelines for ICT challenges are as follows: ICT is a facilitator and is
not the primary or only resource for the information-rich knowledge culture. The social
environment must also be welcoming and mentally ready for participants to embrace the
changeover and to exchange its knowledge system from segregated to integrate by the use of
information portals, kiosks, and the service. It is very necessary to improve cooperation,
openness and transparency among organizations so that knowledge is held together, as
information regarding local content becomes more useful than individual information. An
communication system must also be created for ICTs because it helps give the community the
expertise and resources required to use this information.
The valuable interactions, meanings and material contribute to the development of the
culture and to the knowledge capacity and how this can be utilized. The government that
operates in the ICT paradigm will improve this condition and extend it to the digitisation in

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order to make information available within the public domain and that has to be modified by
shifting the mental state from the restrictive to the free flow of information.
Furthermore, backgrounds, the state and the private sector play an important role in
building up a skilled, trained and analytical power that penetrates the society. The ICT
platform is essential for the state, the business and the private sector to adopt IT-based
governance (Fuad, Bohari, & Cheng, 2011).
It can be concluded that, ICT is one of the broader terms for IT that stresses the
importance of Unified Communications and Computer Integration and an essential
organizational applications, middleware, store and audio systems that provide users access,
storing, distributing and manipulating data, including the function of Unified
Communications and Integration of Telecommunications and Computers. In Malaysian
culture, the society is prepared to take advantage of and use ICT. The survey on the public
awareness of general and scientific principles found that the success of Malaysia in the field
of technology and science in the advancement of daily lives was very close to that of the
different ethnic groups resulting from the various research findings.

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