MOSTI to hold final study of computing bill

By Shannon Teoh

March 14, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, March 14 — The government said today it will hold a final round of consultations on the controversial Computing Professionals Bill 2011 (CPB2011) after only 29 per cent of respondents in an earlier engagement supported the proposed law.

The Science Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti) said in a statement today that it has proposed further consultations and this has been endorsed by the Cabinet Committee on Human Capital Development.

The controversial bill has been called Orwellian by the computing industry and lawmakers. — Reuters file pic

“The finding and analysis of this study will be presented to the Cabinet Committee... chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister for a final decision,” it said.

The Malaysian Insiderreported early this month that proponents of the controversial law to regulate information technology professionals have been given until June to amend the draft Bill or drop the proposal that has been called Orwellian by the industry and lawmakers.

The Malaysian Insider understands that the Cabinet Committee on Human Capital Development chaired by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin gave the deadline to Mosti which has formed a select steering committee comprising representatives from academia and various public and private organisations.

The proposed law calls for the formation of a national body called the Board of Computing Professionals Malaysia (BCPM) to register and certify all ICT professionals, making it mandatory for those who work on projects deemed to be of strategic or critical importance.

The CPB2011 was largely slammed when a working draft was leaked onto the Internet in December last year, with critics pointing out that it is filled with too many vague definitions despite it having been worked on for 30 months. The draft is also in its 17th revision.

MOSTI responded immediately by having an Open Day at its office on December 13. It also sought more feedback via email, an exercise that concluded on January 15 this year.

According to documents obtained by The Malaysian Insider, only three per cent of those who responded support the Bill in its current form. About 25 per cent support the Bill but want to see amendments, while 72 per cent are completely opposed to it.

Mosti also said today 70 separate responses from individuals and organisations were received after a month-long engagement with stakeholders.

“Twenty-nine per cent supported the proposed Bill but nonetheless this number may not reflect the overall segment of the ICT community,” the ministry insisted.

It said in December it would discard the controversial Bill if the industry can find a better way to boost the local industry towards meeting world-class standards.

IT professionals voiced concern over the Bill when a draft surfaced online last week, saying registration under the Board of Computing Professionals will hurt the billion-ringgit industry by shrinking the pool of eligible professionals.

But the ministry said the move is to reverse Malaysia’s sliding standards in computing as reflected by its drop from 50th place to 56th place in the International Telecommunication Union ICT Development Index between 2002 and 2008.