Open Malaysia

"For the times, they are a-changin'...," lyrics from a Bob Dylan song rang through my head as I started this post. That song was an anthem in the tumultuous 60's, inspirational to me even now as we see changes happening in Malaysia and the world.

Yes, the world and Malaysia is becoming open in many ways. The Public Sector Open Source Software Initiative from 2004 has shown Malaysia's enlightenment to move from status quo. Open standards in ICT took a historic turn last week when ODF (OpenDocument Format) was announced as an international standard by ISO (International Organization for Standardization) -- here just over a week before, the SIRIM meeting (thanks to Yoon Kit for the report) made Malaysia one of the 23 countries who unanimously voted YES to ISO for the ballotting process.

This is a blog about openness, saying that the changing times call for innovation through open collaboration. My colleague, Roslyn Docktor last week presented the subject "Innovation and Open Collaboration In ICT - The Way Forward for Malaysia" (again thanks to Yoon Kit for the report) at an event by MOSTI (Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation). Roslyn's last week's visit to Malaysia was impetus for me to start this blog.

As this Open Malaysia blog unfolds, over the coming months and years we will witness more changes, but there will be obstacles, e.g. FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt). We will discuss these changes and obstacles.

For now, I leave you with the last verse of the song:

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'...