(Borneo Post; October 3, 2006)

KUCHING: The state government is set to further improve its information management (IM) through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Canadian Federal government.

The MoU will be inked during the 2006 International Information Management Conference (IIMC), organised by the state government, here on November 13 and 14.

Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam told a press conference yesterday the state government had decided to enter the pact with the Canadian government because the latter is a world leader in IM.

He pointed out that the Canadian government had received the “International E-Government Award” for five years running from 2001.

He said the MoU would enable the two government to share IM experiences, policies, strategies and practices.

“We also like them to work on the rural areas and see what they can do as far as delivery of information there is concerned,” said Dr Chan, the State Information Technology Resource Council (SITRC) chairman.

Stratfos Consulting Sdn Bhd general manager, Chin Koon Siang, explained the MoU was the result of the State government's two years project in implementing IM architecture and practices.

“The MoU allows direct exchange of officers attached to specific departments, and also access to their vast resources of IM policy, strategies and programme,” he said.

“It's will also allow us to get direct support from them on any queries or assistance that State may require in information management.”

Most of other State governments have not really embarked on information management as programme by itself; there are still more on computerisation and ICT,” Chin said.

On the IIMC, Dr Chan said it was a big event and he hoped it could held binnually not only for the benefit of chief information officers (CIOs) in the public and private sectors but also for the Sarawak government.

“We feel this is the way forward as far as managing the State's information and delivery system are concerned because today, it is about how you manage information and how you deliver them.”

He said most of the people invited to the IIMC would be the CIOs in the state and from other countries in the region. A three-day IM workshop will also be held at the same time.

The two-day conference consist of plenary session with a combination of structured presentations, distinguished by theme, with opportunities for questions from the floor and responses from the panel members.

The purpose of the plenary sessions is to present current international best practices and standards of participants.

The panellists will be leaders in IM from Canada, Malaysia and Sarawak. About 250 participants are expected to attend.

The three-day workshop meanwhile, emphasises understanding IM and discussing its complexities.

It is intended to senior of the State Public Service directly involved in IM.The IIMC will be held at Crowne Plaza Riverside Hotel. The fee is RM 2,000 and registration closes on October 15.

For more information contact Rosalind Yang at SDI tel: 082-415484 or fax:082-412799 or email rosa@sdi.com.my.

Also present were Deputy State Secretary Datuk Amar Abdul Aziz Husain and the director of the ICT Unit of the Chief Minister's Department, William Patrick Nyingor.