The Penang state government has proposed a budget of RM36 million to run its e-government programmes, Chief Minister Koh Tsu Koon said today.

Spanning five years, the budget will cover costs of information technology (IT) infrastructure, equipment, training and hiring of chief information officers (CIOs) in all government sectors.

"I hope the Federal Government will approve this budget soon," said Koh in his presentation at the First CIOs Conference in the Public Sector in Kuala Lumpur, which was opened by Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

"Notwithstanding Penang was the first state to come up with the Multimedia Super Corridor idea, (our IT plans) haven't been able to take off due to lack of personnel and funds," Koh added.

The government launched the MSC in Cyberjaya four years ago as a strategic move to prepare the country for challenges in the IT area and leapfrog Malaysia into the digital era as part of its goal to attain developed nation status by 2020.

Koh was one of the panellists at the two-day conference held for the first time to clarify the roles and scope of duties of CIOs in bringing about change to the management and administration of the public sector. Education minister Musa Mohamad was another panel speaker.

Role of CIOs

Meanwhile, Abdullah, who chaired the two-hour dialogue, said that CIOs are not only leaders and strategists, they are also counsellors, implementers,coordinators, the links and the initiators of change that will benefit the ICT(information and communication technology) as enablers of transformation in any organisation.

"As strategists, CIOs are responsible for ICT planning; they have to understand and follow global trends," he told the 300 government officers present.

"CIOs are also responsible in enhancing inter-relationships between agencies, canvassing the support of all levels of management and promoting the use of ICT effectively," he added.

Security issues in ICT

Abdullah said that the question of security is more critical these days with the advent of the Internet age. He said that in the past, the computer is only accessible to a few people, therefore the usage and security of information and databases can be maintained easily. But the scenario has changed now that the Internet has opened up new boundaries between different countries in different parts of the world.

"This openness has made our information susceptible to all kinds of threats.Internet messages can now be intercepted and transferred or changed," he said.

"The worst fear is that senders can impersonate someone and abuse the Internet for selfish reasons," he added.