Left to right: Datuk Abdul Aziz Hj. Husain (State Secretary), Sanib Said (Director of Museum), Philip Asan (Land & Survey Dept.), Edwin Abit (SEDC) and William Nyigor (Director - ICT Unit)

Land and Survey Department, the Museum, Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC), and Museum Department won the State Government’s inaugural best website competition in a presentation ceremony held at a leading hotel in Kuching on 22nd August 2001. They received RM1,500 and a trophy each from the State Secretary, YB Datuk Abdul Aziz Haji Husain.

The best website competition for the State agencies for 2001 was organized by the ICT Unit, Chief Minister’s Department. The objectives of the competition were to select agencies to represent the State at the national level competition organized by MAMPU Kuala Lumpur, and to encourage State agencies to establish and to maintain their own websites. Prior to the closing date of the competition on 12th August 2001, the ICT Unit, together with Sarawak Information Systems Sdn. Bhd. (SAINS), organized web development training for 50 of the agencies in Kuching, Sibu and Miri. The Ministry of Environment and Public Health also organized training for the Local Councils.

The website competition was open to all State agencies, including the Ministries, Departments, Local Authorities and Statutory Bodies. 60 agency websites were nominated or selected for the 2001 competition. These were then short-listed to 6 finalists - Forestry Department, Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC), Land and Survey Department, Museum Department, Majlis Bandaraya Kuching Selatan (MBKS), and Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation (SESCO). The 6 finalists each received RM500, a trophy and a certificate from Datuk Abdul Aziz.

The 3 winners were selected by a panel chaired by Datuk Abdul Aziz. The other members of the panel were the Director of the Human Resources Development Department, En. Mohd. Morshidi Abdul Ghani, En. Yusof Bujang of MAMPU Cawangan Sarawak, En. Edwin Mit of UNIMAS, En. Anthony Goh of the Human Resources Management Department, and the Director of the ICT Unit.

In his address during the awards ceremony, Datuk Abdul Aziz reiterated that all State Government must maintain a website. He also stressed that the responsibilities for creating, maintaining and updating websites resided with the agencies, and that they would be their own webmasters. During the function, the State Secretary also presented appointment certificates to 60 webmasters from agencies from all over the State.

Datuk Abdul Aziz urged the State agencies to recognize the importance of the web, and to use it as an important channel for communication and delivery of service to their customers. The State Secretary emphasized the importance of the Internet and the web, and that the State has adopted the as key platforms for the State’s ICT application development and implementation. He also highlighted the web as the platform for agencies to remain relevant in the new digital future where the customer expects communication and service lines that are open 24 hours a day and accessible from anywhere he decides.

The website competition would be an annual event, and it is envisaged that future competitions would be bigger and more grander with more categories contested and more agencies participating.