Computing Professionals Bill in ‘fix-it-or-kill-it’ stage

By A. Asohan
Special to The Malaysian Insider

March 03, 2012

PUTRAJAYA, March 3 — Proponents of a controversial law to regulate information technology professionals have been given until June to amend the Computing Professionals Bill 2011 (CPB2011) 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 Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin gave the deadline to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) which has formed a select steering committee comprising representatives from academia and various public and private organisations.

File photo of computer gamers in Cyberjaya on April 11, 2009. The authorities want to register and certify all ICT professionals, making it mandatory for those who work on projects deemed of strategic or critical importance. — Reuters pic

They will have to present their recommendations to the Cabinet committee which next meets in the May-June timeframe.

“No decision has been made yet, but instead a further study to ensure that the interests of all stakeholders are covered has to be done,” Dr Amirudin Abdul Wahab, under-secretary of the ICT Policy Division at the ministry and chairman of the steering committee, told The Malaysian Insider.

These stakeholders include players from various industries, whether big or small, academia, and the developer community itself, which has been most vehemently against the Bill in its current form.

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 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 there was too much ambiguity and too many vague definitions despite it having been worked on for 30 months and being in its 17th revision.

MOSTI responded immediately by having an Open Day at its office, and gathered more feedback from then until February 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 supported the Bill but want to see amendments, while 72 per cent were completely opposed.

“We have proposed to the originators of the Bill — the National ICT Human Resource Task Force led by the Ministry of Higher Education — that they further engage all the above players, taking into account all the input that MOSTI has gathered since our Open Day and via email and discussions.

“They will then propose the way forward, and MOSTI will present this proposal to the Cabinet Committee on Human Capital for their review and consideration,” said Amirudin.

He stressed that the next step — whether to proceed with the Bill or not — would only be taken after the National ICT Human Resource Task Force “has done proper and extensive consultation with all the relevant stakeholders and also take into account the input that MOSTI has gathered.”

This was communicated at a special meeting on Monday, according to sources, who added that three options were still on the table: 1) To go ahead with the Bill with perhaps only minor amendments; 2) To make major amendments to the Bill to make it more acceptable and effective; and 3) To kill the Bill.

Option 2 includes looking at whether existing legislation that covers some of the same ground, such as the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, can be amended to take into account some of the concerns that the CPB2011 seeks to address.

That option would also look into whether any existing professional body, such as the Malaysian National Computer Confederation (MNCC), can be expanded and strengthened to act as the proposed BCPM.

The proposed law aims to upgrade the quality of ICT professionals and safeguard information networks deemed critical to the nation — or Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) — by bringing in new levels of accountability and scrutiny.

BCPM accreditation would be compulsory for all ICT professionals involved in CNIIs, which are only vaguely defined as National Defence & Security; Banking & Finance; Information & Communications; Energy; Transportation; Water; Health Services; Government; Emergency Services; and Food & Agriculture.

Critics have noted that this would involve almost every economic sector in the country. They also argued the Bill, at least in its current form, would stifle innovation and creativity and could potentially force companies to relocate from Malaysia or shut down.

In an official statement posted on its website, MOSTI has summarised the major areas of concern as:

(i) Clear definition of the powers of the Board and interpretation of the terms in the Bill;

(ii) Defining the rules and regulations of the Bill;

(iii) Consistency in relations to legal provisions and issues of replication with other existing Acts or Bills;

(iv) Pre-requisite for registration as a computing professional for both local and foreign practitioners; and

(v) Implication of the Bill, particularly in terms of international commitment such as with the WTO (World Trade Organisation) and various FTAs (free trade agreements), and issues such as brain drain, stifling creativity and innovation.

* A. Asohan is co-founder and executive editor of Digital News Asia, a digital publication covering the ICT ecosystem that will go live in mid-April.