In 1997, the Malaysian Government launched the Electronic Government initiative to reinvent itself to lead the country into the Information Age. The implementation of e-Government in Malaysia heralds the beginning of a journey of reinventing the government by transforming the way it operates, modernising and enhancing its service delivery. E-Government seeks to enhance the convenience, accessibility and quality of interactions with the public and businesses at large. Citizens and businesses are also able to transact with the government anywhere and anytime at their convenience. Realising the vision of the Electronic Government, this maiden edition of the Public Sector ICT Management Review focuses on the implementation of several e-Government projects at the Federal and State Governments.

The key to e-Government's success in Malaysia is the continuous improvement process that is currently on-going. Nevertheless, after almost a decade of its implementation, where does Malaysia stand when benchmarked internationally? The article “Implementation of Electronic Government in Malaysia : The Status and Potential for Better Service to the Public” by Mohsin bin Hj Ahmad and Raha Binti Othman provides some comparisons with other countries to gauge Malaysia 's position in the implementation of e-government applications.

Human capital development is becoming a crucial and non-negotiable reality to nurture leaders for the future and in the development of socio-politics and economy of a country. In this context, the government is presented with a unique opportunity to enhance public sector human capital development through the implementation of e-Learning. This new mode of training promises to transform the conventional way of conducting training by removing time and distance barriers. In her paper, “E-Learning For The Malaysian Public Sector”, Dr Azizah Abd Manan and Dato' Dr. Hj. Malek Shah provides an overview of the concept of e-Learning, the strategies and framework for the implementation of e-Learning for the Malaysian public sector.

The path to e-Commerce has become clearer as the Government learns from its earlier mistakes, appreciates the complexity of e-Commerce and changes its mindset toward citizen-centered service delivery. “ePerolehan - A Breakthrough for e-Commerce in the Malaysian Government” by Zaharah Abd Rashid sheds some light on the ways in which ePerolehan was implemented and examines its challenges and successes. It also draws conclusions about the current situation and makes projections about future developments.

The main goals of e-Government are to improve the quality of public services and the efficiency of administrative work. However, it does not allow citizen participation in local government administration such as policy making and implementation processes using ICT. Through e-Democracy, local governments in Japan are now making their own policy of area management based on discussions with the local citizens rather than looking to the central government. “E–kerajaan dan e-demokrasi: Analisa Konsep dan Perlaksanaan di Peringkat Kerajaan Tempatan di Negara Jepun” contributed by Dato' Mohd Shafiq bin Abdullah and Zulkapli bin Mohammed analyses the concept of e-Government and its relationship with e-Democracy. Furthermore, they examine bureaucracy, political culture and political will to change existing governance processes as the major barriers to an effective e-Democracy.

The traditional method of recruitment has been revolutionised by the emergence of the Internet. The e-Recruitment application recognises a variety of associated benefits, including allowing organisations to bypass conventional means of vacant advertising and agency commissions by integrating careers sub-sections into their websites. What are the demerits of e-Recruitment? “E-Recruitment Practice: Pros vs. Cons”, provided by Rosita bt. Mohamed Othman and Nadianatra bt. Musa constitutes a literature review on the e-Recruitment practice by government agencies in Malaysia . It also examines the pros and cons of the e-Recruitment practice.

As Government agencies acknowledge the benefits and potentials of common platforms and information sharing, websites are becoming more prevalent. However, designing and developing highly credible websites poses a challenge to these agencies. To this end, “Credibility Review of the Malaysian States e-Government Web Sites” submitted by Jonathan Sidi and Syahrul Nizam Junaini discusses the importance of credibility for websites and presents reviews on five state government websites.

There is a growing recognition that e-Government is not just about technology but about harnessing technology and making services available anytime and anywhere. Technology is only one aspect of e-Government transformation. Other aspects such as redesigning government processes, systems, structures and developing new skills are equally important. Syahrul Nizam Junaini and Nadianatra Musa submit “Success of e-Government Initiative in Sarawak” which provides some insights on the governance and administrative structures that drive the transformation of Sarawak into a knowledge society.

How do we measure the success of e-Government initiatives in Malaysia ? What are the appropriate criteria and indicators? Which evaluation method is to be adopted? Muhammad Abkari Omar and Dr. Mokhtar Mohd Yusof argue that the measurement of success in e-Government implementation is subjective as different criteria and evaluation methods produce different results. Their findings are reported in their research “Pelaksanaan Projek Electronic Government (EG) - Satu Penilaian”.

The Chief Editor