(Borneo Post; April 27, 2005)

KUCHING: Two recent graduates of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak’s (Unimas) Faculty of Computer Science have become the joint champions of the inaugural Sarawak Open Source Competition (SOSC) 2004.

Praveen Raj Santhira Rajah and Jennifer Law, both 22 years old, won with their project, Internet Quota Management System (IQMS), earning them RM6000 cash and a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA).

Briefly, the IQMS has the ability to manage the usage of Internet and thereby, reduce network congestion. As a result, this controlled mechanism allows speedy access of Internet services. The system also educates users of the proper way of Internet usage through an effective and resource-saving method,

Law also won the second prize of RM3, 000 for her Secure e-Medical Record System. The system allows doctors to view and add medical history for their patients and also to request the medical history of patients from other doctors. Similarly, patients will be able to view their personal record and medical history and they are allowed to change their details such as their address and contact number,

In third place were Ahmad Hadinata Fauzi and Johari Abdullah with their Web-Based Online Testing System. They won RM1,000.

The winners received their prizes from Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr George Chan, who is the State Information Technology Resources Council (SITRC) chairman, at a ceremony here yesterday.

The SOSC is a joint-effort of the State Information Communication Technology (ICT) Unite of the Chief Minister’s Department and Sarawak Information Systems Sdn Bhd (SAINS). Dr Chan is also SAINS’ chairman,

The objectives of the competition were to promote public awareness on Open Source Initiatives (OSI) and to encourage participation and contribution in OSI project implementation. The main target group is the new generation of software engineers, developers, programmers and those who have the interest and talents but not much resource to develop their vision.

The competition began in November last year and concluded in February this year. Dr Chan said he was encouraged by the response to the SOSC, though there were only eight entries. He hoped that the event would continue to grow in popularity with the younger generation to promote the development of the Open Source system.

“I am happy to note that submissions came from people of various age groups, and from students as well as working professionals. The solutions entered in the competition showed resourcefulness as well as creativity in showcasing the usage of Open Source in a productive manner.”

He added that he was happy to see SAINS had moved beyond being just a technology solutions provider to also performing its social obligation in assisting the development of the ICT community in the State.

SAINS CEO Teo Tien Hiong, meanwhile, pointed out that it was Dr Chan who mooted the idea of having an Open Source competition during a function in Unimas on Feb 11, last year.

“His suggestion as the SITRC and SAINS chairman reflects his deep understanding of the importance of Open Source as a potential future path in the computing world,” he said.

Hadinata, Johari and Dayang Nur Fatimah Awang Iskandar also won a consolation prize for their Online Directory Service, while Lo Huang Jy won the consolation prize for his JS Contact System.

Also present at the function yesterday was State ICT Unit director, William Nyigor.