Financial Sustainability Issues in Malaysia’s Telecentres

Ibrahim, Huda; Yasin, Azman; Dahalin, Zulkhairi

doi:10.5539/cis.v3n2p235

Cited by 14 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 1 publication

(1 reference statement)

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“…Users of the telecentre among agro-pastoralists expressed satisfaction with the fact that the ICTs services were accessible to agro-pastoralists community members, who could now make use of ICTs and had the opportunity to communicate with the rest of the world for livelihoods and basic services support (Etta and Parvyn-Wamahiu, 2003: Ibrahim et al, 2010: Morton & Kerven, 2013.…”

Section: N=number Of Respondentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making ICTs work for Agro-pastoral Livelihood: Using the Telecentre as Learning Tool for Agro-pastoralists Communities in Tanzania

Ngowi¹,

Mwakalobo²,

Mwamfupe³

2015

JSD

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Traditional agricultural extension services intended to serve agro-pastoralists in Tanzania and Sub-Saharan Africa at large have failed to make significant impacts, due partly to the lack of knowledge-sharing practices to disseminate timely agricultural and livestock-keeping information. A key problem has been inadequate access to information due to weak linkages and interactions between agricultural and livestock research institutions; including, the lack of knowledge and information articulating best practices; and deficiency of relevant research information presented in easy to understand ways and localized to the needs of agro-pastoralists. However, in recent years, there has been growing attention devoted to the implementation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in agriculture and livestock-keeping development. The growing ubiquity of mobile phones presents an excellent opportunity to put timely agricultural and livestock-keeping information into the hands of agro-pastoralists through direct linkages with the telecentres services in rural areas. The evidence has linked ICTs to an increase in gross domestic product; it has prompted dedication to the research of the socio-economic benefits and policy implications of ICTs consumption in Africa. Consisting of field case studies and implementation frameworks for telecentres, this paper provides a Tanzanian rural perspective and understanding of the developments in ICTs services for sustainable agro-pastoral livelihood. Therefore, the field results indicates that, the extent of the interaction between the telecentre services and agro-pastoralists in terms of ICTs access as a learning tool shows that more than half, 43.7% (178) and 23.6% (96) out of 407 respondents were interacting; whereby agro-pastoralists access the services provided by the telecentres to improve agro-pastoral livelihood. We conclude that the interaction between the telecentre services and agro-pastoralists has to be transformed; since the potential of ICTs services in rural areas as yet remains untapped and urgent measures are required to derive maximum benefits for sustainable agro-pastoral livelihood.

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Section: N=number Of Respondentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making ICTs work for Agro-pastoral Livelihood: Using the Telecentre as Learning Tool for Agro-pastoralists Communities in Tanzania

Ngowi¹,

Mwakalobo²,

Mwamfupe³

2015

JSD

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“…The connectivity needs of rural residents are being addressed in part through the telecenter program, which established forty-two telecenters from 2000 to 2003. However, the financial sustainability of rural telecenters is often challenged ( Proenza 2001 ) and this is as true in Malaysia as elsewhere ( Ibrahim, Yasin, and Dahalin 2010 ). It is therefore important to ascertain whether government sponsorship of telecenters is worthwhile, by asking whether telecenters are making a positive impact on people ' s lives.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Public Access to Computers and the Internet on the Connectedness of Rural Malaysians

Proenza¹,

Girard²

2015

Public Access ICT Across Cultures

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This chapter reports the findings of research conducted in 2010 on the connectedness of rural Malaysians who accessed computers and the Internet through the rural Internet centers (RICs) established by the Malaysian government in 2000 and 2003. We examine the impact of the RICs on users ' sense of social connectedness, defined as the feeling of belongingness and being linked and related to a network, community, or group that one trusts and interacts with. Our study ' s findings give credence to the RIC initiative. Users use RIC facilities and services to connect with family, friends, and acquaintances, with new people external to their social circle, and (albeit to a much lesser degree) with government. Users perceive a heightened sense of connectedness and feel that this connectedness has had a positive impact in their lives. There appears to be room to expand the impact of RIC telecenters so that they foster greater collaboration and help nurture the development of positive social capital. Some of the possibilities for expanding impact are identified.

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“…Previous studies have confirmed that a lack of financial support has caused many telecentres to face sustainability problems in Malaysia (Norizan & Jalaluddin, 2008). According to Ibrahim et al (2010), financial support is the key element for operating and maintaining telecentres. Telecentres are generally dependent on public funds at least in their initial stages.…”

Section: Systematic Financial Planningmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review Paper: Critical Factors Affecting the Development of ICT Projects in Malaysia

Meng¹,

Samah²,

Omar³

2013

ASS

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Malaysia has been stuck at middle-income level since the 1990s. Hence, the government has been aggressively undertaking productivity improvement by enhancing its technological and knowledge capabilities in order to transform the community into a knowledge-based society. However, more than 40% of its population still lives in rural areas and lack basic infrastructure (such as fixed telephone lines or Internet connection). This has led to a wider information gap between the rural and urban communities. The setting up of telecentres is seen as a means by which to bridge this gap, as it will provide public access to ICT services and facilities, particularly in remote areas where such services and facilities are lacking. Malaysia has systematically planned a framework to narrow down the gap; it attempts to offer the best ICT infrastructure to its people, thereby allowing them to adopt ICT as a tool to improve their social-economic status. Although investments and efforts have been in place, however, some of these projects have yet to prove successful, and many projects are still in a developmental stage. In addition, there are few empirical studies on the critical issues surrounding the formation of ICT projects in Malaysia, and we are in dire need of research to fill this gap. This paper provides a discussion of the relevant documents, and a literature analysis, regarding the catalysts and barriers towards the development of ICT projects.

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Financial Sustainability Issues in Malaysia’s Telecentres

Cited by 14 publications

References 1 publication

Making ICTs work for Agro-pastoral Livelihood: Using the Telecentre as Learning Tool for Agro-pastoralists Communities in Tanzania

Making ICTs work for Agro-pastoral Livelihood: Using the Telecentre as Learning Tool for Agro-pastoralists Communities in Tanzania

Impact of Public Access to Computers and the Internet on the Connectedness of Rural Malaysians

A Review Paper: Critical Factors Affecting the Development of ICT Projects in Malaysia

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