ISSUE 2 December 2000 To be a leading egovernment to better serve the nation in the digital economy An IDA Publication for Singapore Public Sector Think Big Start Small and scale fast CONTENTS 01 Think big, start small, and scale fast CONTENTS With the New Economy making dramatic changes to the global business world, Singapore s government is fast on track to get on the e-commerce platform through a series of initiatives. In his keynote address at the recently held Public Service 21 - Managing For Excellence (PS21-MFE) Forum on egovernment held in October at Orchard Hotel, Mr Lim Siong Guan, Head of Civil Service, noted the new millennium heralds the dawn of the digital era. He added that the competitiveness of nations and their capacity to thrive in the global knowledgebased economy would depend on their ability to anticipate and adapt to change with speed. The ability of governments to embrace technology to enhance its capabilities is now a critical factor of economic competitiveness. The government has a key role to play in engendering the digital business environment and behaviour, said Mr Lim. Head of Civil Service Mr Lim Siong Guan, at the PS21 - MFE Forum on egovernment Moving a step closer The government in Singapore is serious in its vision to move along with technological changes. To this end, it aims to be a leading egovernment and the first country in the world where majority of its transactions with the public will be done electronically. Rather than be one of several channels for public service delivery, electronic delivery can be the preferred channel. In some cases, where it is a distinct value-adding proposition, we should even consider offering the service only electronically, said Mr Lim. Procurement on the Internet offers many opportunities for cost savings for the public sector and the government plans to progressively make these contracts available only via the Web, through its procurement system GeBiz. eegovernment 1 03 Combating against computer viruses 04 Infocomm 21 05 SurfIP: The first stop, one-stop IP portal continued on pg 2 06 Bringing healthchecks closer to home 07 Wireless Technology - the next wave 08 ecitizen bags Commonwealth innovation awards
2 egovernment Initiatives in place The egovernment Action Plan was established in consultation with all levels of public officers earlier in the year. It charted the strategic thrusts and programmes that would help realise the e-government vision. To give greater impetus to the egovernment vision, an egovernment Policy Committee has been formed and will be chaired by Mr Lim. It will provide strategic directions and lead the work on changes in policies, processes and management issues to make egovernment a reality. Three other committees have also been formed to review existing laws and regulations to bring them in line with the needs of the New Economy. The first, the pro-enterprise Panel, caters to rules which affect businesses. Its objective is to make the Republic the top spot in the world for pro-business environment. The second committee, Zero-In Panel, aims to tackle social, community and administrative issues affecting the general public. The third committee, POWER (Public Officers Working on Eliminating Red Tape) will enable officers to update rules which are no longer relevant to the New Economy. To date, the Singapore Government earns top marks in its lead in the Internet age. A recent survey by Andersen Consulting, along with other reports, confirmed Singapore to be ahead of many countries in government-tocitizen services and Singapore s egovernment concept to be among the most citizen-centric. According to the survey, The Singapore Government was ranked top, together with the United States, Australia, Canada and France, in the status of maturity in implementing electronic government. Into the digital age The task towards egovernment will require leadership, a vast amount of re-engineering and discarding a number of current business models, rules and regulations. It would also require concerted efforts from across the public sector agencies and officers. Singapore already possesses a number of inherent advantages. It has a relatively simple government structure, which makes it easier to integrate services from a citizen s perspective as opposed to launching online services from an agency s perspective. The Republic also enjoys one of the highest rates of PC ownership and Internet access in the world, with more than half connecting to the Internet from the comfort of their homes. Schools and homes are also wired to receive the broadband. We cannot foretell with great precision what the digital future will be like. It is still work in progress. However, what we do know is that egovernment is going to fundamentally change all aspects of governance, said Mr Lim. He concluded that Singapore had a unique opportunity to become a world leader in the area of egovernment and solidly anchor e-governance as a key aspect of its economic competitiveness. However, unlike e-commerce in the private sector, which is driven by relentless competition, the task will be harder in the public sector. The force for change and continuous improvement and innovation must come from within. e
Combating Computer viruses Computer viruses are programmes that usually hide in the background to perform malicious activities or cause existing software to malfunction. With the Internet, it has become far easier for computer viruses to spread through file sharing and exchange. Viruses contain reproduction mechanisms which enable them to propagate to Update your anti-virus tools regularly to prevent virus from spreading to your system. other files in the computer or other computers. As an example, a typical Microsoft Word macro virus uses Word s global template as a reproduction mechanism. It first infects the template upon loading and subsequently infects all documents opened. Computer viruses can be malicious or harmless when activated. A malicious virus such as the Michelangelo virus overwrites files in the hard disk while a harmless virus such as the Hitchcock virus plays musical tunes when activated. With the advent of the Internet, computer viruses are one of the most prevalent electronic threats, and have led to the development of a multimillion anti-virus industry. In order to defend against these viruses, it is necessary to have anti-virus tools installed on the computer system to scan the files. The antivirus tools should be regularly updated to be effective against new viruses. Although anti-virus technologies are available to combat viruses, it makes good sense to practice safe computing, such as not opening email attachments or running downloads indiscriminately. It is also useful to configure the computer system against virus infections. If a disk or a directory does not require write access to be permitted, it should be disabled. Data should be backed up on a regular basis in case of an unrecoverable infection. There is another kind of virus that preys on the human thought to create havoc. Also known as thought virus, the hoax virus often presents readers with a threatening scenario through elaborate technical jargons. Similar to chain mails, such hoaxes do not actually cause any damage but can heighten anxiety and TIPS flooding of emails. Thus, it is always advisable to check with an authoritative source to verify a virus report. e Tips on minimising virus infection: 1. Do not run email attachments or downloads indiscriminately. 2. Turn on the Macro Virus Protection for your Microsoft applications. 3. Make your Microsoft Word Normal.dot read-only. 4. Update your anti-virus tools regularly. You can usually get the latest version of the anti-virus engine and signature files from the vendor s website. egovernment 3
4 egovernment Partnering the Industry to Realise the egovernment The Singapore Government recently launched the egovernment Action Plan to better serve the nation in the Digital Economy. INFOCOMM In June this year, the egovernment Action Plan was conceptualised after a six-month study 21 involving public servants at all levels. It was unveiled by Dr Tony Tan, Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, during the official opening of CommunicAsia 2000. "We have begun to transform ourselves into an egovernment, one which members of the public and businesses can reach, communicate and interact with virtually," he said. To maintain the momentum towards the vision of an egovernment, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) organised an Infocomm 21 Industry Dialogue on egovernment on 28 September this year at Suntec City. At the dialogue, Ms Wu Choy Peng, Assistant Chief Executive (Government Systems) of IDA, outlined the government's strategies for the future to build an effective egovernment and the achievements it had accomplished so far. Speakers from various Government agencies also shared their infocomm initiatives with the industry. They were Ms Pauline Tan (Deputy Director, Systems & Services of IDA), Mr Queh Ser Pheng (Deputy Director, Infrastructure & Technology, of IDA), Mr Philip Heah (CIO & Director Technology Division, Ministry of Home Affairs), and Ms Tan Kar Joo (CIO & Director, CISD, Ministry of Law). A distinguished panel comprising Mr Lee Kwok Cheong (Chief Executive, National Computer Systems); Mr Ong Hoon Meng Panel Members from left to right: Mr Ong Hoon Meng, Mr Chia Wee Boon, Mr Lee Kwok Cheong, Dr David Chew and Ms Wu Choy Peng. Action Plan (Managing Director IBM Singapore); Mr Chia Wee Boon (Managing Director, Hewlett-Packard Singapore); Dr David Chew (Chairman & Chief Executive, Stratech Systems); and Ms Wu Choy Peng discussed Partnering the Industry to Realise the egovernment Action Plan. They agreed that there were many advantages in a partnership between the industry and the government, and the need to build an open communication channel and allow for changes in current practices. The panel highlighted that there was a need to develop a partnership mentality so that both parties would benefit in the long run. It said that the local industry had to look beyond egovernment and think of the global marketplace. Beyond good integration and delivery, the industry could be more proactive by providing advice on policy matters, closer project management and co-ordination. It could also value-add in areas such as requirements identification, so as to give a total solution. IDA welcomed views from the industry on how the Government Chief Information Office and IT departments in the various government agencies could help the industry on a project basis. The Infocomm 21 can be a tremendous opportunity for Singapore, not only in business terms but also in terms of looking ahead and exporting our egovernment expertise beyond Singapore. e
The first-stop one-stop IP (Intellectual Property) portal The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) recently launched an IP portal - SurfIP - to provide inventors, businesses, IP lawyers, patent agents and IP users quick access to comprehensive and integrated searches for IP information. egovernment 5 With Singapore s aim to position itself as a Knowledge Based Economy in the 21st century, there is a need to encourage and support creativity and innovation through appropriate legal framework and infrastructure. In line with that aim, IPOS - a department in the Ministry of Law - conceived the idea of a first-stop, one stop IP portal called SurfIP (http://www.surfip.gov.sg ). The portal was officially launched on 9 November this year. SurfIP allows users from any part of the world to search for IP information from the convenience of their office or home through the Internet. The users may independently select any patent databases, nonpatent sources and web sources for simultaneous searching. The hits result from these multiple sources are integrated into a single hit list thereby reducing the time spent for repeating the search at each of the sources. SurfIP also provides cross-lingual search from English to Chinese by keying in the English equivalent keyword. Other value-added services include saving the search criteria, emailing the search result to a colleague, bookmarking a document for future reference, and machine translation of documents from English to Chinese as well as from English to major European languages and vice versa. Users can also retrieve business news and specific information pertaining to IP events and IP drafting courses organised by patent offices and associations of various jurisdictions. SurfIP is linked up with the Singapore epatents database, a database that contains information on patents application filed in Singapore. SurfIP has also established direct link-ups with international patent databases such as those from the European Patent Office, the UK Patent Office, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Plans are underway to broaden the link-ups to Asian and other patent offices to offer users a more comprehensive set of sources for their searches. e
Bringing 6 egovernment Health checks Residents at the screening centres. closer to home Singaporeans and permanent residents aged 55 years and over did not have to go very far for their health checks this year. Acommunity project entitled "Check Your Health" was simultaneously launched in 19 constituencies in July. To date, more than 12,000 residents have undergone screening for high blood pressure, diabetes and high blood cholesterol. At the screening, the participant obtains a computer-generated personalised health report. This is compiled based on the participant's health history, biometric measurements and blood tests. The programme is made up of field and central modules.the field module collates screening data from a questionnaire on lifestyle habits as well as biometric measurements and blood tests to generate a personalised health report. Referral letters are generated for participants with results that require medical attention. A pre-paid acknowledgement card is attached to each referral to enable doctor whom the participant consults to confirm the screening result. The central module consolidates all information and produces statistical reports on health trends. It also updates the acknowledgement cards returned by the attending doctor. A reminder would be generated to remind participants to seek medical attention if they have not done so. The system is simple yet functional. It serves the important functions of collecting data from all screening sites, generating a personalised report on-site, and generating reminder letters to encourage participants to go for their follow up checks. All data collected is also available for evaluation by Ministry of Health. The goal of the "Check Your Health" project and the computer system that supports it is aimed at improving health among Singaporeans. The community project is conducted in collaboration with six voluntary welfare organisations - PAP Community Foundation, Touch Community Services, Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society, Lions Befrienders, Chee Hoon Kog Moral Promotion Society and Thong Kheng Charitable Institution. e CHECK YOUR HEALTH Check Your Health will be conducted on Sundays at the following constituencies until March 2001 - Aljunied, Kaki Bukit - Kebun Bahru - Kim Seng, Kolam Ayer - Leng Kee, MacPherson - Nee Soon Central - Queenstown - Radin Mas - Toa Payoh Central - Toa Payoh East Please call Health Helpline at 1800-2230313 to check on the screening schedules for the respective constituencies. CHECK YOUR HEALTH
Wireless technology - the next Immigration clearance goes high tech in trial The Singapore Immigration & Registration (SIR) has initiated a trial project that utilises WAP technology, in a move to further improve immigration inspection procedures for those entering through the Singapore Territorial Waters. SIR is working closely with the Technology Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore on the trial. During the trial, shipping officers will carry small WAP-enabled devices such as mobile phones and Personal Digital Assistance (PDA) to perform online immigration clearance at a much faster rate. They will input the required data into these devices for screening through a network. If successful, the new technology will streamline the manual screening process of seamen onboard vessels. SIR will also consider applying the advanced WAP technology to retrieve information on suspected immigration offenders, in a move to step-up enforcement operations. wave Brace yourself for the next wave in technology - Wireless Application Protocol or WAP. It is a set of global specifications which acts as a de-facto standard that allows mobile users with WAP-enabled devices, such as handphones, to access and interact with information instantly. WAP also makes the possibility of wide area mobile computing a reality - one can now send emails, browse the web, obtain information services, trade stocks, conduct banking transactions and check travel schedules, wirelessly. There s more - surf the net while on the move or download multimedia content while in a bus to work. All these and more as the mobile cellular networks undergo an evolution that brings forth higher wireless trans mission speeds. Major device manufacturers like Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola, Siemens have already delivered their smart devices. Content providers and application developers are also on the bandwagon to rapidly deliver mobile information access via WAP-enabled devices. All the 3 local mobile telcos already have such service offerings over the current GSM networks. Trials over newer networks like GPRS are also well in progress. Within the next few years, it might not come as too much of a surprise when you book a flight over your very own handphone. e egovernment 7 WAP technology is used to further improve immigration inspection procedures at SIR.
8 egovernment ecitizen bags Commonwealth InnovationAwards Singapore ecitizen, an online integrated public services portal, clinched a bronze award at the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) International Innovation Awards Programme 2000. Held in South Africa in October 2000, the programme aims to promote innovation in government reform throughout the Commonwealth. Competing with over 120 entries from other Commonwealth countries, the ecitizen project is one of the projects to be awarded in this year s Innovation Awards. The ecitizen s winning formula was its one-stop delivery of integrated, citizen-centric public services that transcend across government agencies. The services are organised and presented according to the major life-events in a citizen's life, instead of by agencies. "This award is an endorsement of our vision and efforts to provide integrated electronic services to the public," said Ms Tan Swee Hua, Director (Systems and Services), Government Chief Information Office of IDA. "This recognition will definitely spur us in continuing our efforts to achieve integrated service delivery in government," she added. A total of one gold, two silver and three bronze awards were given out. Some of the other winning entries included a Poverty Eradication Programme in India (Gold), a citizen-centred service network in Canada (Silver) and a civil service performance improvement programme in Ghana (Bronze). e EDITORIAL BOARD Advisor Editors Contributors Editorial & Design Consultant Yong Ying-I Wu Choy Peng Loh Yong Chye June Lim Caren Chua Kartina Bte Rosli Wee Wai Ming Fion Teow (MLAW) Hooi Wai Yean (GCIO) Lionel Choo (GCIO) Melissa Tan (MOH) Poh Poh Hong (isec) Tan Hui Kheng (SIR) Tan Swee Hua (GCIO) Lancer Design Pte Ltd The egovernment Newsletter is a quarterly publication of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, distributed on a complementary basis. Readers are welcome to send their views, request for hardcopy or electronic version via email to kartina_rosli@ida.gov.sg. The egovernment Newsletter IDA Singapore 8 Temasek Boulevard #14-00 Suntec Tower Three Singapore 038988 DID: 211 0447 Fax: 211 2206 ISSN 0219-4864 IDA Singapore. All issues are posted on www.ida.gov.sg. Articles may be reproduced with prior permission obtained in writing from IDA, and with credit given to IDA.