Ongkili : Digital divide can hamper democratic process
Thursday, 12 September 2002

WINDHOEK (NAMIBIA) : Malaysian delegate to the 48^th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) conference, Dr Maximus Ongkili, has asserted that the digital divide (DD) can have enormous political implications on the democratic process in developing countries if no concrete steps were taken to address the problem immediately.

Addressing a workshop on “The Digital Divide and the Threat of Cyber-Terrorism” held as part of the 8-day Conference, he said the long-term effects of DD on society were not simply economic in nature but also political since information and communication technology (ICT) was increasingly affecting political decision making and political process in many countries.

“In many developed countries today, legislators are increasingly using ICT to communicate, disseminate information, and interact with their electorate through the use of e-mail, video conferencing, messaging system, digital imaging, and e-learning.

“Legislators and electorate that fail to use ICT for political engagement will sooner or later be severely disadvantaged thereby hindering the participation of the masses in the political and democratic processes,” he argued.

The 48^th CPA Conference attended by some 400 legislators and parliamentary officers from over 50 commonwealth countries is being held in the Namibian capital of Windhoek over the period 8-14 September.

The conference was declared open by the Prime Minister of Namibia, Theo-Ben Gurirab, on 8 September in a ceremony filled with glittering cultural performances by Namibian indigenous groups.

Ongkili, who is Bandau MP, said developing countries could learn from the experiences of Malaysia in addressing the DD problem..

“In Malaysia the national government recognizes fully that DD is a serious impediment to development and unless appropriate actions are taken to mitigate it, many groups will fail to share the benefits derived from the use of ICT.

“For this reason the Malaysian government, guided by its National IT agenda (NITA), has been proactive in formulating strategies and action plans to bridge the divide by focusing on specific vulnerable groups in the country.

“The identified target groups are the indigenous people of Sabah and Sarawak, urban and rural poor, women and youth, and the aged and disadvantaged,” he explained.

Ongkili, who is also sole Sabah member on the National IT Council (NITC) chaired by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, further added that DD existed between the developed and developing countries as well as between urban and rural sectors in a given developing country.

He stressed that effective DD redressal proggrames would necessarily include provision of basic ICT infostructure to ensure connectivity and expansion of IT education including the teaching of English in order for ordinary people to access the information superhighway.