16-18 November 2005
Tunis, Tunisia
Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen.
It is indeed a great honour for me to speak at this
auspicious event where Heads of States, Heads of Governments, Ministers,
Officials and Civil Society, come together to carry forward the decision
and resolve achieved during WSIS I in 2003. Our intention here today will
contribute to the future and shapes the environment where the next
generation work and live.
Distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen,
The issue of Information Society is indeed near and
dear to our heart. It has undeniably taken a significant position in our
agenda, a position that it certainly deserves. With the creation of an
Information Society, we envisaged a society where everyone is able to
access, gain, share and exploit knowledge and information in order to
maximize their potential and improve their quality of life. This society
will live in an environment which is people-centered, development-oriented,
and built upon the partnership and cooperation between all the
multi-stakeholders, the government, private sector, non-government
organizations, and the civil society.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
During the first phase of WSIS in Geneva back in 2003,
we agreed on the Declaration of Principles, whereby we agreed on the key
principles upon which a sustainable and feasible Information Society can
be based on. From these key principles, we further recognized the coming
challenges and vowed to meet those challenges with a concrete Plan of
Action. The Plan of Action has set indicative targets to be achieved by
2015, and Brunei Darussalam is committed to meet these targets.
Ladies and gentlemen,
As our follow-up to WSIS I, Brunei Darussalam held the
National Summit on Information Society (NASIS) on 7-8 September 2005, and
it was launched by His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di Pertuan of Brunei
Darussalam. NASIS was in fact an unprecedented event in Brunei Darussalam.
It has gathered people from all walks of life, the government,
non-government organizations, business entities, civil societies and the
private sector, including students, in Brunei Darussalam to discuss issues
related to the establishment of an Information Society, their importance
and how they shall be addressed in Brunei context. NASIS was also the
channel for dissemination of knowledge and information on Information
Society. Also on the agenda was to agree on a strategy, comprising of
specific realistic, achievable and sustainable targets and action lines at
the national level that leads towards the establishment of an Information
Society in Brunei Darussalam.
These targets and action lines are embodied in the
"Brunei Darussalam Information Society : Strategy Paper", which
is the key deliverable of NASIS. This document sets out core strategies in
realizing the vision towards an Information Society in Brunei Darussalam,
which includes, promoting a competitive-driven environment, encouraging
business/private sector investment and participation as well as to narrow
the infrastructure gap between the least developed areas and most
developed areas. It also highlights several focus areas that are crucial
in the creation of an Information Society, such as e-Education,
e-Government and e-Society.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me share with you the ‘position’ where Brunei
Darussalam is at the moment. Our internet penetration rate has increased
from 6% in 2000 to 30% in 2004. 92% of the schools nationwide are now
connected to the Internet. However, our broadband penetration is still
quite low at 7%. Thus we see the need for ubiquitous and affordable
access, capacity building to enhance ICT literacy among the Bruneians.
While encouraging the adoption of ICT usage among our
society, we also recognize the need to address the important aspect of
increasing user’s confidence in using ICT in their daily lives. I feel
that this is where the issue of Internet Governance which covers a wide
area, such as spam, cybersecurity, domain names and many others.
Mr Chairman, Distinguished delegates, ladies and
gentlemen,
I am deeply grateful that WSIS II is highlighting this
very important issue today. Indeed, this sentiment is shared by the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) Telecommunications &
IT Ministers during our 5th meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, as
embodied in our statement which is an input to WSIS II, here in Tunis.
With the rapid growth of Internet users around the
world and the speed at which information are disseminated world wide via
the Internet, together we, ASEAN Ministers believed that any approach to
Internet Governance must be done in a multi-stakeholders environment with
the full, inclusive and appropriate participation of all stakeholders,
government, private sector and civil society. We must also recognize that
governments have a leading role to play on Internet Governance. With the
growing global Internet community, we should be able to develop solutions
which will serve all stakeholders while considering the local culture,
language issues that different and various among us particularly in
developing countries. Undoubtedly, I believe WSIS II is the best forum to
do so.
Thank You.
