Law to control Malaysia’s IT workers?

If passed, the Computing Professionals Bill 2011 will require Malaysia's IT workers to register, or be slapped with a hefty fine and jail term

PETALING JAYA: Computing and information technology (IT) workers may have to register themselves before a government-appointed board if they want to work in the field, according to a draft Bill released on the Internet.

Entitled the “Computing Professionals Bill 2011″, the 56-page document said that unregistered IT workers would not be able to work or earn money in computing-related areas.

“No person shall – unless he is a registered computing professional – carry on business or take up employment which requires him to carry out or perform the services of a Registered Computing Professional,” it read.

The Bill added that unregistered persons would not “be entitled to recover in any court any fee, charge, remuneration…for any professional technology services rendered”.

A failure to adhere to this, the draft Bill added, would slap the offender with a hefty potential fine of RM20,000 or not more than six months jail or both.

The Bill said that a body known as the Board of Computing Professionals (BCP) would be appointed by the Minister of Science, Technology and Innocation (MOSTI).

The board would be tasked with registering computing professionals in the country. People with IT, computing or any other qualifications recognised by the BCP would qualify for registration.

Registration fee

Computing and IT workers who have been working without these qualifications would have to prove themselves to the board before they can register. The Bill, however, does not mention anything about people who are self-taught.

The Bill states that a computing professional would have to pay a certain “prescribed fee” to the BCP before they can be registered.

The amount, however, is not specified.

If passed, this Bill would be applicable to a field known as a “Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII)”.

The CNII, according to the Bill, appears to involve Malaysia’s “national economic strength or national image or national defense and security or government capability to function or public health and safety”.

The Bill vaguely states that “assets, systems and functions” related to these areas, if led to “incapacity or destruction”, would have a “devastating impact” to the CNII.

However, the Bill does not exactly say what kind of sectors would come under the CNII. It also did not specify if non-CNII sectors would be affected by the Bill.

It is not clear when the Bill will be tabled in Parliament.

When contacted, a Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) spokesperson said that they were “aware of the matter” and would be releasing a statement on it soon.