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1. Electronic Government
2. Smart Schools
3. Telemedicine
4. National Multi-Purpose Card
5. R&D Clusters
6. Borderless Marketing
7. World-wide Manufacturing Web

Government or Lead Agency
Each application is assigned to a Government or lead agency. This will be the task force overseeing development applications.

Working in conjunction with each governmental Lead Agency, will be an Industry Advisory Panel - a team of companies/vendors who are to work together with the lead agency and provide consultation in planning, concept, and implementation of each application.

Together, they will:

• provide prototypes of Flagship Applications
• objectively reach practical solutions
• design pilot projects
• create structure for the application's development
• deliver the blueprint
• agree on the RFP specifications

1. Electronic Government

Lead Agency: Mampu (Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Units) -- (together with 18 IT companies)

Electronic Governement project is the first to be launched (1997).

This project involves linking up to 100,000 government employees to multimedia applications. Training will be conducted to enable them to effectively use the new technology. Links to businesses and general citizens must also be set up. Selected ministries and departments will be equipped with multimedia mobile offices, video conferencing, digital archiving, common databases, as well as digital signature facilities.

It is reported that contracts for the Government's electronic Flagship Applications will be given out in January 1998.

There are five pilot projects contemplated:

1. Motorists licence renewals
2. Government procurement
3. The PM's office activities
4. Human resource management
5. Project monitoring

Concept Requests for Proposals is to be released in July 1997. This document will define the hardware, software, and implementation standards required to ensure coordination and compatibility across all projects for the electronic government Flagship Application. It is estimated that it will take about 6 months for the expected applications to be studied by a steering committee. It is hoped that most of the pilot applications will be in service by June 1998.

There is a demo-setup that can be accessed at

2. Smart Schools

Lead Agency: Education Ministry

Target:

• to link schools within the MSC to the Internet by 1998 and the rest of the country within 2 years.
• model of smart schools to be developed in MSC and then rolled out
• implement distance learning
• The Education Ministry will take steps to increase the usage of multimedia in education with the introduction of computers and advanced software for education and administration. Technology schools well also be set up within the MSC.
• MSC companies to have the opportunity to shape school concept, develop software applications, curriculum, courseware, teacher and staff training, and building the appropriate infrastructure.

3. Telemedicine

Lead Agency: Health Ministry

MSC plans to be a regional center for telemedicine. Among other things, telemedicine will allow medical specialists to provide online consultancy.

Target:

• distance learning
• remote consultation
• diagnosis
• treatment
• virtual patient record
• national electronic medical network
• R&D clusters of universities and companies who are focused on new applications
• incorporate Multimedia technologies into Malaysian health care system
• build hospital in Selayang with plans to be complete next year

4. Multi-purpose Smart Cards

Lead Agency: Bank Negara

This will be the world's first comprehensive multipurpose, multi-functional smart card. On it will be included an individual's identity, electronic signature, allow access to government services, facilitate banking, act as credit card, telephone card, pay for transport, and club services.

Features:

• World's first test bed
• to be issued to all Malaysians
• act as national ID card
• electronic purse (for small ticket items)
• credit card
• telephone card
• club membership card
• used for transaction with Government
• target: commercial release 2000

5. R&D clusters

Lead Agency: Science, Technology, & Environment Ministry

MSC intends to be the regional center for collaborative cluster of universities and corporate R&D centres.

As part of Malaysia's Accelerated Industrialisation Drive to achieve industrialised-nation status by the year 2020, the country has recognised the need to assimilate and develop its indigenous base by expanding its R&D activities. Incentives to encourage R&D development activities have already been formulated, e.g. R&D grants to SMEs; and multimedia university.

Under the 7th Malaysia Plan (7MP) allocation for research and development (R&D) will be increased to RM1 billion (RM629 million for 6MP). Another RM2 billion will be provided for related infrastructure facilities and services.

In allocating and utilising resources, research agencies and universities will be subject to a competitive bidding process. Research agencies and universities will, therefore, be encouraged to identify and market intellectual property with commercial potential.

6. Borderless marketing

Lead Agency: MDC

Alternatively known as "cybermarketing" and "electronic commerce". It is a means of doing and promoting the growth of business (includes market research, publicity, advertising, sales, merchandising, distribution, customer support & service) in cyber-space.

Advantages of this form of marketing vs. the traditional form are:

• add interactivity - more interaction between customer and supplier
• remove marketing's dependence on paper and paper publication
• less dependency on geographically dependent time zones
• remove some of the barriers of competition. For example, it levels the playing field. Like someone once said, "On the Internet, no one cares if you are a dog." When you do business on the net, distinctions related to your ethnic background, gender, size of your business, personal appearance becomes invisible.
• Erase time and distance barriers and reach immediate global markets.
• Continuously available. On the job 24 hours a day.
• Open up new markets where regionally bound exporters never reached before (e.g. Eastern Europe where telephone services are poor but the people have access to the Internet).
• Direct linking of buyers to Manufacturers, minus the intervening retailer.

• electronic versions of catalogues, brochures, spec sheets (which no longer have to be printed, packages, stored, shipped). Customers can order directly, or request for changes without having to synchronise differing business time zones or go through the intermediary of secretaries or assistants. Electronic updates that do not have to be sent back to the printers for reprints.
• Online customer specifications of products: smart marketers can encourage their customers to become engaged in making decisions about the products they want, customising the products to the customers' need. Dell Computers has based much of its overwhelming success and growth on being able to customise its production to meet customer requirements instead of having to mass produce and suffer the cost of storage, redundancy, and middle-man agent fees.

It is believed that e-commerce can even take off with greater speed here than anywhere else in the world because Asia is not saddled with old technology like the West is. However, this is more a point of debate than fact as both sides of the world have their vantage and disadvantage points.

7. Worldwide Manufacturing Web

Lead Agency: International Trade and Industry Ministry

MSC to serve as remote manufacturing coordination and engineering support hub that electronically enables companies in high-cost countries to access plants across Asia as a virtual extension of their domestic operations. It will enable these companies to control, monitor, deliver operational support to their regional network of design/manufacturing, and distribution centres. It will also enable real-time operational control on product development, customisation, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution.

Note:
Many of the Flagship Applications are still in the process of being defined.