(News Straits Times; November 2nd, 2001)

KUCHING, Thurs. - The provision of Electronic Bills Presentment and Payment services to enable the public to settle their bills conveniently is one of the State Government's priority projects.

State Secretary Datuk Amar Haji Abdul Aziz Haji Husain said the Government was "making every effort" to ensure the project materialises as soon as possible.

"The EBPP service (in the State) will continue to grow and expand' said Aziz, who is also the chairman of SiliconNet Technologies and managing director of Sarawak Information Systems (Sains).(Sains, set up in 1992, is the Government's in-house IT implementation arm whereas SiliconNet is a subsidiary of Sains.)

Under the EBPP system, the public can view and settle their bills via the Internet. The website address is http://www.paybillsmalaysia.com.

Aziz revealed this during a function which saw Bank Utama (M) Bhd signing EBPP and "e-Collection" agreements with four utility providers in the State, namely Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation (Sesco), Kuching Water Board (KWB), Sibu Water Board (SWB) and Telekom Malaysia Berhad.

The service was launched in April last year with Sesco as the first biller and Bank Utama as the financial institutions providing the account direct debit payment facilities.