STATEMENT BY

Mr. President, 

At the outset, let me thank you, Sir, and your country, the Republic of Korea for initiating this timely meeting on this important subject devoted to information and communications technologies for development.  

Permit me to thank the President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Chairman United Nations Information and Communication Technologies (UN-ICT) Task-Force, the Digital Opportunities Task Force and the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for their statements.   

My delegation associates itself with the statement delivered by the Vice Minister for Science and Technology of Venezuela on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. However, I wish to take this opportunity to make a brief statement on a number of issues of particular interest to my delegation. 

Mr. President, 

Information and communication technology (ICT) has revolutionalised the world. The ICT revolution with its knowledge and technological capacities has immense potential to accelerate growth and development of the developing countries. It is indeed encouraging to note that throughout the world, about 400 million people are connected to the cyberspace.  However, my delegation is saddened that only 5% of the figure represents those residing in developing countries. Clearly the developing world is lagging behind.  The international community must address the digital divide between the developed and developing countries if it is serious in implementing the Millennium Development goals.  This meeting is a start in the right direction as it brings together relevant stakeholders – government, private sector, NGOs, multilateral development institutions and the United Nations at the same forum to exchange ideas and experience with a view to promote and forge a common undertaking to address the global digital disparity.  My delegation looks forward especially to the discussion in the more interactive informal panels.  The meeting would also allow Member States to provide some ideas and views to the preparatory work of the World Summit on the Information Society, which would be held in Geneva in 2003 and Tunis in 2005. 

The UN-ICT Task-Force was launched last November by the UN Secretary-General with a view to positioning ICT as an enabling factor in the building of a poverty-free world.  We hope that the ICT Task-Force would catalyse the bridging of the global digital divide and foster digital opportunity which would put ICT at the service of development for all.  The challenge for the international community is to technologically empower the marginalized 4 billion of the world’s population to participate in and benefit from the ICT revolution. Genuine international cooperation is essential to ensure real, tangible and sustained transfer of knowledge and ICT technology to developing countries.  Information represents a powerful tool to enrich and empower the entire humankind, as a knowledgeable society would generate more benefits to the peoples of the world.  Our leaders, at the Millennium Summit had hoped for the right of universal access to information and communication technology.  The developed countries must therefore assist the developing countries in their efforts to develop these technologies as embodied in the Millennium Declaration agreed by our leaders. The work of the ICT Task-Force and the Group of 8 Digital Opportunities Task Force would be critical in this regard. 

Mr. President, 

The internet had sparked the creation of the new era for mankind.  Nations have to adapt to the evolution in the information sector to progress.  Knowledge has become a factor of change and the Government of Malaysia since the early 90s has embarked on a quest to transform Malaysians into a K-society.  The National Information Technology Council (NITC) was established in 1994 with the vision of creating an information-rich society to enhance the development and utilization of ICT as a strategic technology for national development.  The NITC acts as a think-tank at the highest level and advises the Government on matters pertaining to the development of ICT in Malaysia. It is a “smart partnership” between the private, public and community sectors. In addition to the Multimedia Super Corridor initiative, the National Information Technology Agenda [NITA] was formulated in 1996 to provide a comprehensive framework for development in the Information Age. 

It is important that the bridging of the information and knowledge gap is focused not just between Malaysia and other nations, but also between local communities in Malaysia itself.  The number of internet users in Malaysia has increased four-fold or 400 percent - from 1.6 million in 1998 to 6.5 million in 2001. We expect the number will surge to 10 million next year. Nevertheless, what is more critical is to foster the use of the technology so that all segments of the society will grasp the opportunities emerging from the information age.  In Malaysia, we have identified five segments of the population that are being under threat of marginalisation by the ICT revolution namely senior citizens, youth, women, people with disabilities, and geographically isolated communities. Together, they comprise almost half the country's population. NITC's Social Digital Inclusion Programme aims to address these community groups to ensure that the digital divide is bridged for every sector in the community.

An important segment of the population is the young generation.  In Malaysia, one third of our population is below 14 years old.  It is essential to provide early ICT exposure to this group through appropriate programmes/projects in order to develop the potential human capital for the knowledge economy.  In March 2002, together with UNDP and Coca-Cola, the Ministry of Education of Malaysia embarked on a new partnership and pilot project called “e-learning for life” to spearhead efforts to bridge the ‘digital divide’ in Malaysia. The goal is to help local communities to bridge the growing ‘digital divide’ between ICT ‘haves’ and ICT ‘have-nots’. It will bring e-learning opportunities and ICT training resources to students, teachers and local communities. The project is an example of how the UN and private sector could assist in supporting a national government’s vision of building a knowledge-based society in one country.  

Mr. President,  

In our effort to promote international cooperation in the area of information and communication technologies, especially among the developing countries, Malaysia is privileged and pleased to have been chosen to host the secretariat of the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP), a growing partnership of public, private and non-profit/non-governmental organizations around the world that are dedicated to promoting information and knowledge for development.  Through the GKP, Malaysia hopes to promote enhanced South-South cooperation as well as North-South cooperation in bridging the global digital divide and nurturing the global information society. 

Mr. President, 

Sustainable development on a global scale requires accelerated transfer of knowledge and technology, especially ICT, to developing countries from developed countries.  The United Nations is well positioned to take a lead role in shaping the global ICT vision for development.  The challenge for the international community is not only to bridge the existing global digital divide but also to avert further widening of the digital divide.  Otherwise, developing countries will be further marginalised in the information age by the globalization wave.  Herein lies the importance of this meeting and the commendable role that your country plays in initiating it.  We trust there will be important follow up action to assist the developing countries in this regard. 

I thank you, Mr. President. 

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