NEWS: Closing the gap

The country’s digital divide problem is far from solved. In.Tech asks a few people why it is so and what more can be done to close the gap.

There are still many Malaysians who have limited or no access to a computer and the Internet.

According to the Economic Planning Unit, the national household PC penetration rate is only 24.2%.

Dr Richard Leete, United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) resident representative for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei said Malaysia cannot deny this stark contrast between the technology haves and have-nots if it envisions creating a high tech nation.

"You cannot have Cyberjaya on one hand and a digital divide problem on the other," he said.

Digital divide is a term used to describe the division between those who have access to ICT and are using it effectively and those who do not.

"Approximately 5% of Malaysian households live below the poverty line. ICT can be a used as a tool for advancement and to reduce poverty," Leete said.

K. Yogeswaran, director of evaluation at the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) within the Prime Minister's Department said that the divide is highly pronounced in Malaysia.

According to him, 94% of all mukims in Malaysia have low Internet and computer penetration and rapid ICT development is said to be the cause Yogeswaran said.

"A substantial number of Malaysians have been left out due to the significant access and equity gaps that exist from the ICT revolution," he added.

Perceptions

Women and youth under the age of 18 have been identified as groups heavily affected by the digital divide because of cultural misconceptions that the use of high tech or complicated equipment and devices is only for men.

"Women think that men require it more to do their work and provide for the family," said Chong Sheau Ching, director of women's community group eHomemakers.

This, she said, also happens in middle class families who own computers where the woman will be the last to use the PC.

Priority goes to the man of the house followed by the children.

ENTHUSIASTIC: Minister of Youth and Sports Datuk Seri Azalina Othman (seated without a headscarf) helping a child with her computer work at the Maxis Titian Teknologi Programme. With her is Salmah (in pink headscarf).

Chong said that this point of view has been around for a long time.

"Even in the old days, women would rather leave the driving to the men," Chong said adding that it was not until 20 or 40 years ago that a lot of women thought it was time to get behind the wheel.

This perception, she said, is still held by women both in the rural areas and among the urban poor.

Her sentiments are shared by Datuk Ramany Gurusamy, deputy president of the National Committee of Women's Organisations.

She said, in many pockets of society, men are still thought of as the breadwinners.

"This is of course changing, but in some societies, these changes are happening at a slower pace," Ramany said.

Relevance

The relevance of technology in people's lives is a key factor in raising interest, especially among the poor.

When technology becomes irrelevant to their lives, particularly for the women-folk, they won't see the point of adopting it.

"It's something they think they can live without," said Salmah Ahmad, head of local telco Maxis Bhd's corporate social responsibility (CSR) unit.

Based on her experience of conducting Maxis' CSR activities, Salmah said that getting involved in technology is not really the top priority of the rural poor.

"Other things such as tending to the family, paying their children's school fees or putting food on the table is more important," she said.

Besides relevance, Chong added that some women just do not have enough fire in their bellies to crawl out of the digital gap.

"They need a life changing situation like dealing with a divorce or supporting the children single-handedly before they are inspired to get more involved. Without this kind of fire, they are not motivated," Chong said.

Dr Kamaljit Singh, chief executive officer of British Telecom Multimedia Malaysia has a slightly different take on the digital divide in relation to Malaysian women.

"After all the opinions shed on this subject, is it really a digital or is it a cultural divide?" asked Kamaljit.

"There is a need to change the perception that technology is only for work and for men," he said.

"Women tend to follow the rules to the 'T' that they forget that times have changed," he said.

A woman's place is no longer only in the kitchen but also out there becoming breadwinners so technology has never become so relevant as it is today.

"If women just followed the rules and did things the way they are always done, they will be left behind," he said.

Kamaljit said women should take every opportunity to learn and embrace ICT.

If there's a cybercafe or a telecentre in town, there should not be an excuse not to use it.

Building the bridge

The Government has been trying to bridge the gap and came up with the National Strategic Framework for Bridging the Digital Divide in the ongoing Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP).

This framework gives an idea of the severity of the problem and the communities it affects.

Under the 9MP, the Government has allocated RM3.7mil for addressing the issue.

Its plans includes upgrading existing telecentres to become one stop centres for communities to access e-Government and e-learning applications as well as to become information resource exchanges.

Other initiatives include the setting up of the Universal Service Provision fund where telcos donate part of their revenue to help provide ICT tools to areas which need them.

With the money from these funds, the EPU plans to provide every mukim in Malaysia with a telecentre to help the communities familiarise themselves with ICT.

Also, more effort will be put in to supply electricity to rural areas.

Not enough

However, the Government's efforts, including those prior to 9MP, have not been strong enough to conquer the divide.

"These programmes that are meant to acculturise Malaysians to ICT have not been utilised to their optimum to deliver socio-economic value," Yogeswaran said.

Just providing the means to get more people to embrace ICT is not enough. The Government needs to rethink its strategy, said eHomemakers' Chong.

People need to understand how these new tools can help improve their lives.

"If you merely give a tool and do not show the purpose of it, it will be taken for granted.

"People, especially women and youth, affected by the digital divide need to be specifically shown how ICT can improve their lives," said Chong.

A success story exists in India where a young villager was sent to New Delhi to learn about IT and how it can benefit rural cotton and wheat farmers.

When he returned to his village, a Non-Governmental Organisation helped him to set up a PC for his community so they could learn to use it to assess the price for their commodity.

"From that simple act, the cotton and wheat farmers in that village were able to negotiate their prices with the middlemen.

"That is an example of a low-cost, high impact solution, but you don't see it here," Chong said.

Innovative methods

Kamaljit said innovation plays a big part in reducing the digital divide.

"If the Government thinks creatively, it can come out with any solution to get people interested in technology," Kamaljit said.

He cited the example of South Korea after it was hit by the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997.

The republic took a loan from the International Monetary Fund and literally planted it in the ground when it bought into fibre optic cabling for high-speed data access.

"Nobody saw the logic in that but look at South Korea now. It's thriving in content development and IT," he said adding that the private sector also needs to step in and offer more help in tackling the problem.

Kamaljit also said the private sector needs to step in to enhance efforts to bridge the digital divide.

"There is potentially a lot that can be done in terms of CSR in Malaysia but not a lot has been done (to help bridge the digital divide)," he said.

Steven Tai, head of strategic marketing at Nokia-Siemens Networks' Asia South operations, reiterated the need to be relevant to the targeted masses in order to help further narrow the digital divide.

With the rapid development of the IT world, those who do not have any knowledge of IT can be considered the "new poor," he said.

But he added that providing computers alone may not be the only solution to the problem. The solution should be a pragmatic one.

"They must seek to understand their audience before they can provide a solution," Tai said.

For some people, the mobile phone works for them as it can be taken anywhere.

And since the mobile phone coverage is better than PC penetration at the moment, this might be a better solution.

"The Government must try and create something that is relevant to these people and then it will work," he said.