Perhaps you’re right about the business-toxic ‘free’ tag, though in the trade it’s considered to have a meaning closer to ‘unencumbered’. Almost all of FOS software is available absolutely FreeOfCharge, but installation, integration, training and consultatancy is as expensive as any proprietary software. You have only to go to Dell’s online shop, choose a server and see how much they charge to supply it with an operating system that they can download for free.

Your point about ideas of participatory democracy and Rule of Law is superior. Even if a Malaysian-wide community project generated an ‘off the shelf’ solution for local or national government to support participation, there is no habit or tradition to compel people to use those systems. eIncivility seems to be well advanced in Malaysia, but I regard this as a consequence of the NST and other incredible products.

Does Malaysia have anything corresponding to a Citizen’s Advice Bureau? Do local MPs operate ’surgeries’ (where people can talk to them face to face to explain their problems or concerns)? To me it seems one of the greatest hurdles Malaysia faces in ‘catching up’ is one of communication. Ironic, given the penetration figure you quote earlier, and Malaysia’s famous cyber projects. How can citizens know these concepts when they’re not even available, much less publicised?

I know single examples don’t make a case (no need to mention extra judicial killing or suppression of investigations into arms deals, the UK has its ‘quirks’ too), but compare http://www.direct.gov.uk/ and http://www.gov.my/ for access to information about the law. There’s a link to the constitution in the middle of the gov.my page. Tai hao le! It takes you to another page with a link to the Constitution in the middle of the page. That one takes you to a commercial website (with PPC advertising!) that tells me the document doesn’t exist. How can citizens know the law when the government have misplaced it?

What I really wanted to suggest is some charitable (see below) act on the part of Malaysians who can, to address the issue of participation in public life. It’s easy to say ’somebody has to do something’, but when the people we expect to do it are not doing it, and they cannot be compelled, maybe we need to do it ourselves. OK, so I’m not Malaysian, but since my wife and children are, my desire to do something beneficial for Malaysia is not charity, it’s an investment.

I think your icon could have had more support if there was more widespread awareness of alternative views and less fear of the unknown.

This Open-source-government idea is direction in which more and more governments will move in the future.

It is possible here perhaps way way in the future . We’re not backward, I read somewhere (Internet world stats) that there are some 14,904,000 Internet users in Malaysia as of June/07, a 59.0% penetration???

To be sure, some present or future ministers will think of how to go in that future direction.

The incentive will be not so much a commitment to Internet democratic processes but how they could make money from govt contracts for greater application of electronic and information communications technologies to government processes.

However by way of baby steps, most of our ministers at present are still struggling to maintain properly a blog site, then they have to learn more about Open Source - we should not frighten them with mention of the word ” free ” as in open-source-government-software project - to ameliorate some of their doubts and concerns whether there are sufficient money making opportunities in such development methodology if introduced by them or their ICT savvy collaborators here….

At citizenry’s level our priority is still to play “catch up” on basic precepts of participatory democracy and Rule of Law before we could even think of concepts like eGovernment, eDemocracy or eCivil Disobedience…. Our icon of Blogsites as you know is presently defending his right to freedom of expression against a sedition charge, whilst serving time in Kamunting under ISA!

I see the “but PR would be rubbish too” comments gathering momentum, and I have some sympathy for that point of view. While acknowledging that it’s easier to criticise than to do something, how would Malaysians feel about working on a free, open-source-government-software project?

I know, I know, I’ve heard “work for free? got such thing mah?” before, more than once. I’m very fond of the saying “if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself”. At worst, volunteered effort is an excellent test of how badly a person really wants change.

My impression of Malaysian IT, and particularly government and GLC IT is that Mahathir’s dream didn’t make it into some sectors of Malaysian life at all. I don’t doubt for a second that Malaysia has the competency to achieve world-leading public sector IT. I’m not at all interested in why it hasn’t in some sectors. I think I could do a better job (of the IT), some of the comments on here make me think I’m not alone.

If in some hypothetical dream world, let’s call it North Korea, some member of the Korean People’s Army found an OLPC, and showed wikipedia to their colleagues, and the news spread, and a mass of tree-hugging, long-haired, love-my-sibling North Koreans descended on Kim Jong-Il, interrupted him singing “I’m so ronery” and demanded a new North Korea, founded on love, tolerance, transparency, fast food and hip-hop, how would they make it work? Even if Kim didn’t empty the treasury on his way to his retirement mountain, and set fire to all the records, what machinery of government could the Korean People’s Love-in Party use to govern? It would probably be a very mellow, caring disaster, inevitably leading to the return of Kim n Krew at the first and last free and fair election.

What I’m suggesting would be essentially a philosophical and academic adventure, with the hope that at least parts could be ’spun off’ into public service IF any government of any nation should want them. At worst, it could be a device for testing ideas about government in a concrete way. Well, at least as concrete as anything on a computer could ever be said to be concrete. Also at worst, it could be a flagship FOSS (Free Open Source Software) project for Malaysia, restoring some of the glitter to Mahatir’s dream. If the project embodied ideas that are internationally regarded as ‘A Very Good Thing’, such as the UDHR, it could go a long way to helping with Malaysia’s international status as a free and fair society. OK so the last one is far-fetched if it’s just a philosophical exercise, but it would do Malaysia no harm if it appeared that some of its citizens were at least substantially sponsoring freedom and fairness.

And if the Korean People’s Love-in Party came to power, their use of OpenGov v12.3.17 (Buatan Malaysia) could get them over the ‘not-fit-for-purpose’ machinery problem, while doing Malaysia’s international credibility some good. Possibly more importantly, it could act as a guarantee, through its open and transparent nature, that the Korean People’s Love-in Party were really doing their best with the resources that are on easily accessible public record.

Such a project would NOT be a programming problem. It would need programmers, but more importantly, it would need legal advice, practical political input, translators, and most importantly of all, critical input from people who might be affected by how well the machinery of government works. That’s everybody.

I realise this is almost a new topic, my apologies. I do often wonder, while reading all the political puffery: what substantial changes are occurring? And in case you head over to wikipedia to check out “open source government”, that’s not what I mean at all. What I’m writing about is an open source project to develop software for governments to use to demonstrate their transparency and support public accountability - that’s all.

As for “where got such thing?” see Mark Shuttleworth. Free software advocate, second self-funded space tourist. The sky’s not even the limit, apparently.

I understand, Mr. Raja Petra has good personal character and has a good reputation and runs humanitarian activity.

I understand that the below issues were directly connected with murder case of my daughter:

- Who did arrange visa issue for my daughter while she visited in French?
- Who was attending in the trip to French and what did they do?

If it could make clear those issues, they would understand every thing. Why is there so much force and influence in the case? Because there was a serious issue. Thus they destroyed my daughter.

Unfortunately, they pressed down Mr.Raja Petra’s statement. I think this issue needs to get attention from international human right organizations.

He (RPK) shouldn’t be a victim of politic for justice. It would be justice if they release Mr.Raja Petra.

As we are, all Mongolian worry for him and his justice, we lack of information on truth and situation.

Signed:
Mongolian citizen:Shaariibuu Setev
06.Oct.2008