Contents |
Malaysia is one of the key "Asian Tigers" as a consequence of its energetic efforts to transform itself into an information age nation. Unlike its larger neighbors, Malaysia's workforce is well under way on the road to becoming an information dominant economy, as shown in Figure 25. The information sector is estimated as constituting 28% of the workforce at the end of 1998; it is expected to grow to 38% of the workforce by the end of 2003. Malaysia's GDP has had annual growth rates in the 7% to 9% range throughout the early to mid-1990s (Kiranjit, 2004).
Electronic Commerce or e-commerce has received much attention from governments, businesses and regional bodies. This importance has been attributed to several converging factors. These factors include: first, the development of the use of the Internet as a means by which information is disseminated and through which communication and connectivity is enabled; and second, the affordability of personal computers, increase in their computing capability, and the wide use of open standards (Kiranjit, 2005)
There is a high level of interest in e-commerce in the Malaysian government and in its resident information industries. Beginning in 1997, the government established an Inter-Agency Task Force on Electronic Commerce to develop a national strategic action plan and recommend policy initiatives on security, encryption technologies, and transaction tracking mechanisms for facilitating e-commerce. One of the key topics for discussion was the relative advantages and disadvantages to Malaysia on e-commerce vis-à-vis international trade. So far, the conclusion appears to be that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages but that the country should proceed with caution (Kiranjit, 2004).
The main opportunities of e-commerce to businesses and corresponding benefits to consumers in Malaysia includes (Kiranjit, 2004):
The future of e-commerce seems to be very bright for Malaysia. However, it can only remain so if there is consumer trust and confidence in it. Therefore, there is a need for online traders to be accountable and responsible to the consumer. Governments and businesses need to work together on an international platform to ensure specific standards are set, which will assist the electronic traders to meet their responsibilities more systematically. Both the business and government have a role to play in international consumer protection in the online marketplace, which can be global and borderless. The government needs to provide a baseline for international consumer protection to ensure effectiveness of industry self-regulation and thus strengthen consumer confidence. Industry’s expertise and knowledge of commerce, and its ability to take that information and translate it into procedures for operating in the digital world at the same pace as the underlying technology evolves will allow it to implement the necessary codes of conduct (Kiranjit, 2004).
1. Kiranjit, K. (2004)Consumer Protection in E-Commerce in Malaysia: An Overview, retrieved 15 October 2005 from http://www.une.edu.au/asiacenter/KKaur.pdf
Yipshinyi 12:00, 28 Oct 2005 (EST)
