By Salmy Hashim
(BERNAMA; July 20th, 2005)

AUSTIN, Texas, May 4 -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi arrived Wednesday evening from Jamaica in high spirits in this sunny Southwestern city where he will launch Malaysia as an outsourcing centre for world-class information and communications technology companies at the 15th World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT).

A Frost and Sullivan report on Shared Services and Outsourcing would be released at the launching that would affirm Malaysia's readiness to become the next leading outsourcing centre.

Abdullah is scheduled to deliver a keynote address to the largest-ever international information technology conference on Thursday, and accept the transfer of the "crystal" on behalf of Malaysia to mark its role as the next host of the WCIT in Kuala Lumpur in 2008.

Malaysia would be the first Southeast Asian country to host a WCIT conference.

The convergence of world leaders and technology gurus in two years' time is expected to draw leading techonology companies to invest in Malaysia.

Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, the government has doubled its allocation for information and communications technology (ICT) to RM13 billion from RM7.8 billion previously to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural agencies, and to boost research and development efforts.

While here, Abdullah would witness the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC)'s acceptance of WITSA (World Information Techology and Services Alliances) 2006 Global IT Excellence Award; present an award to the Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry of Malaysia (PIKOM) for its contribution to IT in Malaysia and visit the WCIT exhibitions.

Some 12 Malaysian companies have set up their booths here.

Abdullah is scheduled to meet with Texas Governor, Rick Perry; and have one-on-one sessions with industry captains from leading multinational companies such as Sun Microsystems, Unisys, Hewlett Packard, Disney and Accenture.

He would take time from his packed schedule to perform his Friday prayers at a local mosque here, and tour the Dell Headquarters in Round Rock, before flying home on Friday.

The 300-strong Malaysian contingent is made up of government and state officials, officials from MDeC, ICT companies and members of PIKOM.

Minister of Science, Technology and Innovations, Datuk Seri Dr. Jamaludin Jarjis, and Chief Minister of Penang, Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon, as well as selected executives of IT companies are taking part in the conference from May 1-5.

Meanwhile, more than 2,000 technology CEOs, policymakers, and decision makers from 80 countries are here, in this city dubbed "the Silicon Hills," to share new ideas, learn about new products and draft policies that could change the world.

WCIT is the flagship event of the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA).

The WCIT 2006 is exploring IT issues and creating policies in three areas at the conference: global digital access, health care and privacy and security.

Accepted policy proposals from the three major sessions will be adopted at the conclusion of the conference as the official recommendations of WITSA and WCIT 2006 to IT industry and government groups in nations around the world.

-- BERNAMA