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  • Dato' Normah binti Md Yusof
  • Director General MAMPU
  • Prime Minister's Department

The global movement of Open Source Software (OSS) is changing the landscape of the ICT industry in many parts of the world. The benefit realisation of OSS has motivated Governments, industries and communities worldwide to adopt and implement OSS as an alternative to proprietary software. Increased interoperability, reduced costs and vendor lock-in and increased growth of knowledge-based society are among the compelling reasons for moving in this direction.

Since the launch of the Malaysian Public Sector OSS Master Plan in 2004, several milestones were achieved during its implementation. The Open Source Competency Center (OSCC) was the first among these when it was established as a national reference center for support and guidance in the implementation of OSS in the Public Sector. The others include a showcase of the five pilot projects which are operational today, an OSS policy that cover eight areas, the Public Sector OSS Implementation Guidelines and the Malaysian Government Interoperability Framework for OSS (MYGIFOSS) and the establishment of the OSS Portal and Knowledge Bank as well as a more open mindset towards learning and innovating through sharing. The first phase has successfully laid the foundation and created a conducive environment for early adoption. By the end of Phase1, the use of OSS in the Public Sector has spread to all states and every ministry.

In 2007, The Malaysian Public Sector OSS Master Plan progressed into Phase II with a focus on the accelerated adoption of OSS solutions in government agencies while developing relevant expertise to support wide scale adoption of these applications. In the long run, the public sector agencies are expected to be innovative in their OSS use and more self reliant.

Moving forward, three main themes which form the basis for the Phase II strategies have been identified. The first theme is SUSTAIN which focuses on perpetuating the success of Phase I achievements through continuity and enhancement of previous initiatives. Secondly, CATALYSE, which establishes the essential services and infrastructure that can rapidly boost the OSS adoption. The third theme is ACCELERATE which focuses on executing the Phase II implementation plan to accelerate OSS adoption in the Public Sector. In Phase II, the OSCC will provide several new products and services such as the MAMPU OSS Certification Program, Advanced Virtualisation facility, e-Marketplace, Email Collaboration and Security Suit. To maximize returns on these OSCC R&D products, I hope more agencies will use them to implement OSS applications for their delivery systems.

Finally, I would like to express my profound appreciation to Y. Bhg Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan, Chief Secretary to the Government for his continuous support for the successful implementation of the Malaysian Public Sector OSS Master Plan.