govtech and be the change mindset

The common perception of government products among the general public has always been unfavorable since back in the 2000s. Malaysians are quick to offer their feedback in the most 'creative' ways and rightfully we, as rakyat, have every right to do so. In many cases, I find myself agreeing to the complaints given and we should call it for what it is.

But that brings up several questions:

• Why is the average government products always falling short in meeting the expectation -- to a point it became a running joke?
• Is there even accountability measure in place when a product fails?
• Do we have anyone in the government that can protect the government's best interest when building products?
• Do we really lack the talents to deliver the best product for the rakyat?
• Or are Malaysians really just cincai workers? (Obviously not)

I don't have the answers to many of the above, but I have my own wildcard answer. That is to be the change that you want to see. Software engineers should be reminded that they have this powerful gift to build a solution that can solve a huge array of problems. Pair this ability with the greatest problems faced by the nation, we are figuratively in the driver's seat in building the country's future with tech!

Imagine getting the most talented Malaysian software engineers to solve the nation's biggest problems with tech. Not only do we get to protect the nation's best interest, we can slowly shed off the stereotype that government products are bad and make it ACTUALLY good, with our very own hands. This is a tall endeavor, but hey, for engineers, endeavor is just another name for nasi lemak 😆

This is where the GovTech unit comes in. Earlier this year (2023), the government announced the formation of Unit Nukleus GovTech and I had the honor to officially join this unit to work on products that have immense impact to the rakyat -- starting with data.gov.my (opens in a new tab).

It brings me great fulfilment to see firsthand how people are building on top of data.gov.my (opens in a new tab) and how it enables talented data scientists, researchers, academicians to work on meaningful data. And this is just the beginning, insyaAllah, there will be more opportunities to work on high-impact products that directly benefit the rakyat. Just be on the lookout 👀

Some tweets from PMX about the govtech initiative that you might have missed:

1. Pelancaran data.gov.my dan pengenalan Unit Nukleus Govtech (opens in a new tab)
2. Pengenalan GovTech dan inisiatif masa depan (opens in a new tab)

2023 Wrapup

To wrap up 2023, Alhamdulillah, what a year it has been, definitely one of my career highs.

At the same time, let's not forget about the plight of the Palestinians that are facing a great test from Allah SWT. I pray for Allah to establish justice in the holy land, bring peace to the believers, and aid our brothers and sisters in faith in this difficult times. And regardless of the outcome that Allah plans, our Palestinian brothers and sisters are coming out as the victors, whether in this life or the hereafter. Amin.

For 2024, let's keep the momentum rolling, turning government products awesomer for everyone 😆