With the advancements in communications technology, the world has become a global village that allows its inhabitants to connect with each other faster than ever. We can send images, audio, and text to people far away from us. However, this technology needs to be equally accessible to all countries if we are to progress further together.
Myanmar has only been able to use modern communications technology in the last two decades. Between the private and public sectors, we can see that the private sector has been developing rapidly in this regard. The number of mobile phone connections has exceeded the number of people living in the country, and the teledensity of Myanmar has reached more than 100 per cent, with over 80 per cent users having access to the Internet.
“To swiftly develop Myanmar’s economy, we must establish a data ID card system, a digital government strategy, and an e-Government system. This will allow Myanmar to integrate with the developing world and provide us with opportunities to overcome the challenges daunting the country. This is why quickly implementing the e-Government system is of critical importance,” said State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at the third coordination meeting of the e-Government Steering Committee, of which she is the Patron.
While the proliferation of communications technology in Myanmar and the number of users is increasing rapidly, the system in use needs to be in tune with the modern technology used in the world. The system needs to meet set standards and protect public and national security as well. The fast pace of development in the digital age poses its share of challenges when it comes to upgrading communication systems. We need to convert the challenges into constructive efforts for development and ensuring smoother usability.
The government needs to expand the e-Government system it is using to cover the entire country. During the e-Government Steering Committee’s first coordination meeting, the Patron said there were three essential components for the success of e-Government, namely, skills, investment, and cooperation. Of the three, cooperation is the first that needs to be initiated, and government departments need to work closely with each other for e-Government to succeed.
The State Counsellor has pointed out that the current requirement is a standardized Myanmar font so that people can easily access the government’s electronic services in Burmese. She said the current Myanmar font is not widely understood and this needs to be changed as soon as possible.
We urge the government and the private sector to continue doing the best they can to bring in the financial and technological investments necessary to upgrade and expand our communications system and network across the entire country.
