| 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
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The Outreach Program was implemented over a number of years since 2002. The initial Outreach Program implementation was by setting up a team called Special Mobile Unit (SMU) to solve the problem of undocumented person in remote areas in Sabah and Sarawak state. Later, the outreach program was introduced to other states as well.
Special Mobile Unit (SMU) in Sabah and Sarawak established to execute mobile registration operations such as application of MyKad and registration of birth and death. Due to the geographical terrain, before 2007, all the registrations are carried out manually on the field and the data would be keyed-in to the system. In 2007, the SMU was equipped with a mobile set which enable offline mode registration. The data would be uploaded to the system and verified at the nearest NRD office.
Whilst in Malaysia Peninsular, the Outreach Program was carried out by Online Mobile Bus since 2002. At that time the technology used was Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system which enable online registration at the bus. With the fast pace of technology evolution, in 2010, the NRD moved forward with the use of a fixed Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) at its mobile bus as online intermediaries medium which was sophisticated and innovative. The innovation uses satellite technology for connecting systems in mobile bus directly to the host in the NRD Headquarters in Putrajaya.
Due to its success, in 2012, NRD came out with a portable VSAT with hand-carry size to ease the SMU operation on the field. The usage of portable VSAT was extended to Sabah and Sarawak in 2013. The main advantage of the VSAT technology is NRD able to provide online registration in wider coverage regardless of geographical conditions and online service is seen as very important for the staff and public conveniences. The portable VSAT is very effective and equipped with all equipment as available over the counter in the office. It has network security features with data encryption to ensure identification data is fully protected.
Key milestones includes:
2002 Outreach Program initiated:
Special Mobile Unit (SMU) in Sabah and Sarawak
Online Mobile Bus (CDMA) in Malaysia Peninsular
2007 Offline Mobile Set introduced in Sabah and Sarawak
2010 Offline Mobile Set introduced to other states in Malaysia Peninsular
2012 Fixed VSAT applied to the Online Mobile Bus in Malaysia Peninsular
2013 Portable VSAT with hand-carry size introduced
The critical success factors in the implementation of Outreach Program was dependent on three (3) areas:
Shared Vision
The vision shared between the stakeholders encompassing the Government agencies, NGOs and community representatives were the precursor to the success of Outreach Program.
Technology
The use of a VSAT as online intermediaries medium is very sophisticated and innovative. The innovation uses satellite technology for connecting systems in mobile set directly to the host in the NRD Headquarters in Putrajaya. The portable VSAT is very effective and equipped with all equipment as available over the counter in the office. It has network security features with data encryption to ensure identification data is fully protected. The public could obtain the identification documents immediately just like what they could have at the counter in NRD offices.
Paradigm Shift
Today the way in which NRD conducts its services has been transformed. The Outreach Program is seen as a paradigm shift in process of delivering services to the public. Before the Outreach Program was introduced, those affected people have no choice other than going to NRD office to get the services needed. Now, the situation is otherwise. The public has better engagement with the services, provides feedback and able to apply identification documents in the convenience at their door step.
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| 5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
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The primary stakeholder is the NRD as the custodian of the Civil Registry. On a similar note, what used to be a department centric approach whereby the registration is made at the NRD office, is now registered at the mobile counter which is a public centric initiative. Certain Outreach Programs officiated by Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs and Chief Minister of the state involved.
The Outreach Program to some event was carried out by collaborating with other government agencies such as Department of Orang Asli (Natives) Development, Department of Social Welfare and schools to cater special target groups. NRD was also working together with Non Government Organisations (NGOs) and community representatives to execute the Outreach Program.
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| 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
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The project was led by the NRD State Directors from each 14 NRD State Offices. The average size of the project team for the implementation was between 8-10 personnel for each state comprising of registration officers and technicians.
The project was fully funded by the Government, the budget was allocated to the NRD Headquarter in Putrajaya and paid to the respective NRD State Offices. The Government has spent estimated more than USD270,000 annually to implement the Outreach Program across the country. The Outreach Program has provided the Government with efficiency and positive image, while its citizen has benefited tremendously with a better service.
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| 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
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People Centric Approach
The Outreach Program transforms government way of serving the public. The Outreach Program challenges the government’s ageing legacy of traditional counter-based agency-centric approach. The Outreach Program reforms the traditions, processes and institutional practices through the fusing of multitude of public and private players in an environment that promotes citizens centric strategies.
Before the Outreach Program was introduced, the people in remote areas, disabled person and senior citizens have to come to any 210 NRD offices to apply for official identification documents.
After the Outreach Program implemented, the people in remote areas, disabled person and senior citizens could have official identification documents without travelling to NRD offices. The NRD comes to their door step to give the services needed because the department knows the official identification document is very important for them to have other government and private sector services such as education, health, agricultural subsidies, jobs, banking and financial aids.
Online Real Time Registration
This approach has applied state-of-the-art technology which enables real time registration of birth and death certification and MyKad anywhere and anytime. The birth and death certification could be produced immediately. Besides of cost and time saving, the real time registration also eliminates clerical errors by online data verification.
Win-win Situation
With this program, NRD delivers the best services to the public at the convenience of their door step. As a return, NRD could update its civil registration data and the government could use it for planning and development purpose.
Pushing the Limit
The Outreach Program proves that the hidden potential in delivering services could be unleashed. The program has pushed the NRD to think out-of-the-box by initiating new approach to serve the public using state-of-the-art technology. NRD is proud to note that it is the only government agency in Malaysia providing such services to the public.
Huge Numbers of Public Benefited from the Outreach Program
In 2012, NRD has implemented 648 Outreach Program operations throughout the whole country. 21,776 applications have been received comprising of various applications including MyKad, birth and death certificate and citizenship. Out of 21,776 applications, 21,752 applications or 99.89% have been completely processed.
From 1st January until 31st October 2013, 564 Outreach Program operations have been implemented. 12,138 applications have been received and out of that, 11,658 applications or 96.05% have been completely processed. For these 2 years, approximately 50,000 citizens have benefited from this program.
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| 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
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Robust monitoring system is put in place. The Outreach Program has been chosen to be one of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) Secretary General Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for 2013. The target for 2013 is 95% of applications received from Outreach Program would be completely processed. The progress of the Outreach Program is tabled every week in NRD Top Management Meeting. Any issues regarding the implementation would be brought up in the meeting. The meeting is chaired by Director General of NRD. Besides that, MOHA conducts quarterly meeting chaired by Secretary General of MOHA to monitor the progress of each KPI program. Mobile 1JPN System is developed to monitor the progress of applications received through the Outreach Program.
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| 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
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Challenging Geographical Terrain
The major obstacles during implementation are challenging geographical terrain to reach people especially natives in rural areas. The NRD staffs had to use special transport such as boats and 4WD vehicles to reach those people in rural areas. The rural areas are still undeveloped and out of the town. The absence of proper paved road made the journey difficult and takes longer time to reach the destination.
Vehicle Maintenance
The second obstacle is maintaining old vehicles. The cost of maintaining old vehicles used in Outreach Program is expensive. The vehicle needs to be repaired every time after the journey because of improper road.
Culture and Customs Understanding
The third obstacle is to understand the culture and customs of natives in remote areas. Local dialect used by them is different from the majority might cause communication barrier. Some of them do not understand the importance of having official identification documents because they do not use it often compared to their counter parts in town area.
However, these obstacles can be overcome by invoking support and intervention from the existing project management structure. These obstacles were resolved through the monitoring and policy-making committees, which involves top management led by the Director General of NRD and NRD State Directors.
NRD is also engaging various government agencies such as Department of Orang Asli (Natives) Development, Department of Social Welfare, NGOs and community representatives to help in implementing the Outreach Program. With the help from those organizations, the Outreach Program is successfully implemented although various obstacles encountered.
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