[ossig] Tech&U Article on MOSSA roundtable

[Ditesh Kumar]

>From the OpenMalaysia blog:

http://www.openmalaysiablog.com/2006/12/the_new_straits.html

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The New Straits Times newspaper in the Tech&U supplement yesterday (11
December 2006) covered the MOSSA (Malaysia Open Source Software
Alliance) Round Table in response to the recent announcement of the
Malaysian Government's policy on "technology neutrality". It is not
online, so I've transcribed it here.

Impact from software neutrality
By Izwan Ismail

      The Government's adoption of a neutral technology platform policy
must ensure that a more level playing field is established, which
benefits the consumers in terms of quality service received and
long-term gains.

      According to newly established Malaysian Open Source Software
Alliance (Mossa), the policy should include triggers that look beyond
the short-term goals and mitigate risks of market manipulation by
companies or organisations that might offer more in return for market
monopoly, hence imposing restrictive strategies and hindering the growth
of the local information and communications technology (ICT) industry in
the long run.

      Mossa member Dr Yusseri Md Yusoff said that the concept of
neutrality should result in openly developed, maintained and accessible
as well as royalty- and patent-free standards to mitigate the risks,
which favours both the market and industry and gives true meaning to
neutrality. "Software neutrality needs to include understanding that
considerations when acquiring software are independent of whether he
software comes from a proprietary or open source provider. In this case,
the procurement decision should be based on solid business rationale
which must consider functionality, cost-effectiveness, interoperability
via open standards, security, flexibility and performance.

      "And additional considerations would include the effect on local
economies, the adoption of open file formats and adaptibility to future
technologies," he said during a roundtable discussion in Kuala Lumpur
last week.

      Commenting on the effect the new policy would have on the
Government's present open source software (OSS) initiative, Yusseri does
not see any problems here.

      "From the start, the Government OSS initiative has always had a
balanced approach to software deployment with no preference given to
either open source or proprietary software," he said, adding that the
Government has never issued a mandate that procurment of ICT solutions
should be based on OSS or proprietary.

       Yusseri also said the OSS initiative is to give the Government
more choices in terms of software solutions.

      "The advantage of OSS is that you will get the source code, not
vendor locked in, and the standards are almost completed."

      Meanwhile, OSS advocate Nah Soo Hoe said in procuring ICT
solutions, the Government needs to realise the many benefits of open
source. "What needs to be understood is that the cost of the software is
just the icing on the cake; the main thing is that it gives you the
freedom to learn, innovate and invent."

Posted by Hasan on Tuesday, 12 December 2006 at 03:22 PM