From a resource rich country to an information rich society: An evaluation of information technology policies in Malaysia*
Abstract
Abstract Malaysia is a resource rich country and a major socio‐economic force in the Asia‐Pacific region. Historically, the economy of Malaysia was based on agriculture and natural resources. In its efforts to transform Malaysia to a developed and industrialized country, the government started to focus on industry and high technology in the 1980s. A key area of focus was Information Technology (IT). The government chose to adopt several policies with respect to the supply and demand sides of IT instead of a national IT plan1. The policies addressed IT infrastructure, education and training, research and development, use of IT in the public sector, and fiscal incentives. These IT policies and the broad economic and industrial policies implemented during this period had a positive influence on demand for IT products and services, number of IT professionals, number of telephones per 100 population, and IT production and use. This experience has laid a firm foundation for formulating more definitive national IT policies for the 1990s and in achieving the government's objective of transforming Malaysia into a developed and information rich society by 2020.