| 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
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The program was mooted and designed by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) under its strategic initiative National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS) which called for more innovation and creativity in thinking and code of conduct. What makes this program unique is that it strives to cross the terrains and reach the people, to provide them with services and facilities at par with those received by their town-dwelling counterparts.
As both Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia have mountainous terrains and a network of rivers, many settlements, especially the indigenous people are generally beyond the reach of basic infrastructure and roads.
Nevertheless, the Ministry of Finance has taken on suitable modes of transportation which include terrain vehicles such as lorries and even boats to cross the rivers and mountains to get to the people.
This reflects the government’s serious commitment in bridging the leadership gap and levelling out the disparity between the rural and urban citizens. While acknowledging that there is still a long way to go, before the rural dwellers are economically compatible with those in the urban areas, the government recognises the need to ensure every segment of the society receives the same services and facilities.
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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 Mobile CTC initiative was implemented by the Ministry of Finance and assisted by 37 government agencies, utilising the National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS) initiative as a platform to integrate the services of these agencies representing various ministries, semi-government organisations and the private sector.
The Mobile CTC steering committee co-ordinates, monitors and plans the deployment of these essential services to the people who have been deprived of such privileges due to geographical disparity. In rolling out this program, the steering committee works closely with the state government, local government and village heads to identify the needs of the people in a bid to ensure precision in provision of selected services.
The initiative has been designed to reach approximately 7.5million of Malaysia’s population who have been identified as geographically marginalised due to infrastructural and topographic anomalies.
Since its implementation in 2013, the initiative has reached over 1.6million people. In the past two years, the number of attendees surged exponentially, due to the benefits and opportunities offered by the program.
The Government of Malaysia views the implementation of the Mobile CTC with utmost care and diligence as demonstrated by its monthly pre-NBOS summit meeting aimed to oversee and monitor the initiative. This is also in prelude to the quarterly NBOS summit, which monitors milestones achieved and plans enhancements for the betterment of the program.
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| 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
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The strategy was implemented via the collective co-ordination of various agencies and divisions. Planning begins with the Planning Committee liaising with the respective village head to identify social issues and economic challenges plaguing the society at large. This is followed by the finalising of government services that will be brought to the people and the private sector and NGO involvement required.
A co-ordination team will then roll out the program arranging the logistical issues with the village and the dissemination of information to ensure the word is spread and the villages with a determines radius is made aware of this program and its benefits.
Given the travel time, distance and logistical issues including costs, the co-ordination team usually will arrange the Mobile CTC locations within proximity. Each program could cost as much as RM60,000 to RM70,000, however this translates to approximately RM2.50 per head.
It engages the involvement of over 37 agencies, NGOs and private sector practitioners. The program requires extensive planning, with officers preparing the sites up to two weeks prior to program roll-out.
In the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, the program is planned post-flood season to ensure the people receive the right aid to overcome the setback faced from the annual natural disaster.
The entire Mobile CTC initiative requires a fair number of personnel who will travel with the initiative and respond to the needs and aid the rural folks accordingly. It requires an extensive co-operative environment with relevant stakeholders who include the state governments and local governments, as well as village committees.
The manifestation of poverty goes beyond the urban-rural divide, it has subregional and regional contexts. It is therefore critical, and there is great value to be gained, by coordinating rural development initiatives that contribute to sustainable livelihoods through efforts at the global, regional, national and local levels, as appropriate.
Strategies to deal with rural development should take into consideration the remoteness and potentials in rural areas and provide targeted differentiated approaches.
The impact of the program is measured via questionnaires. The feedback mechanism also allows the people to directly communicate their level of satisfaction, expectations, goals and aspirations to the government, who in turn will use this as a benchmark to improve on services and facilities provided for the people.
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| 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
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The Mobile CTC initiative was mooted by the Government of Malaysia, under its NATIONAL BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY initiative. The key aim of NBOS is to break down the silos and allow the various ministries to work together with the relevant private sector bodies such as NGOs and MNCs towards a common goal.
As such, the Mobile CTC program was developed to take the basic services which are fundamental human rights today to the people who were unable to access it due to distance and travel constraints.
The crux of the program is designed following consultation and feedback from village heads locally known as Ketua Kampung or JKKKs. These local leaders work closely with the municipal councils to identify areas of need and slack resources which is then communicated to state governments.
State governments are tasked to communicate these findings to federal government, whereby the Mobile CTC’s steering committee will identify the relevant government agencies, private sectors and NGOs who will participate at each location.
Among the NGOs and private sector who participate at the Mobile CTC locations are Mobile Book Café, PRIMA, which represents affordable housing opportunities, Malaysia’s cable TV provider, National Bank of Malaysia, Company Commission of Malaysia, economic development councils such as East Coast Economic Region Development Council, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, and Job Street, an employment placement organisation.
These bodies jointly conduct programs and offer relevant services such as credit facilities, financial counselling, company registration, job opportunities and skill enhancement during the Mobile CTC events.
The extend of services renders, its range and depth would largely depend on the feedback provided by the village leaders to bridge the gap needed to stabilise the socio-economic conditions of the people.
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| 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
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Since its implementation in 2013, the Mobile CTC initiative has successfully advanced the nation in achieving its sustainable development goals namely in the areas of education, employment and entrepreneurship, health and increased involvement of women in nation building.
Its success rate is clearly reflected in the rise in number of attendees, which steadily rose from 71,408 when it debuted to 1.6million last year.
In terms of education, the seminars and tuitions provided helped raise the numbers who passed the two major checkpoint examinations in Malaysia, PT3 and SPM. The SPM, which is a pre-matriculation examination saw a rise in the pass rate of rural students and resulted in an increase in numbers gaining place in matriculation and in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions nationwide.
In the area of entrepreneurship and employment, the Mobile CTC initiative helped bridge the gap by matching job seekers to suitable jobs according to their skillset and educational level. The presence of numerous financial institutions such as banks and the awareness of grants and aids for business start-up allowed the youth and retirees alike to diversify or expand their income base through home-based industries and various other agricultural or handicraft activities.
The healthcare programs deployed entailed the involvement of the National Heart Institute, National Population and Family Development Board and various other private and government health agencies in areas of optical care, dental, diabetes, kidney/urology and many others.
While statistics are unavailable to prove the effectiveness of the program as it has only been implemented for the past four-years, but the quality of living amongst the villagers, especially the elderly has improved significantly.
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| 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
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The main obstacles encountered with the Mobile CTC initiative includes the government bureaucracy, largely tied to the silo mentality, financial constraints, logistics management and lack of commitment from certain quarters.
When certain prongs of the sustainable development goal involve the various ministries, multiple state agencies at federal and state level giving rise to questions on who is responsible and accountable for decision making, tasks and resources. This creates red-tape that is sometimes difficult to break through.
Another challenge faced is the limited financial resources requires decisions to be made on deserving recipients of the aid as demand often time outstrips the supply of available aid. Most of the medical supply for instance is garnered by tapping into Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs of organisations in the private sector. Unfortunately it rarely suffices the demand as healthcare poses a huge void in the rural areas.
Another challenge faced in this program is overcoming the terrains to reach the village settlement. In East Malaysia, especially many settlements can only be reached via boats or busses and this poses a logistical challenge as all the various agencies need to be transported to the location.
The lacks of human resources often cause a lack of commitment among the various agencies and departments tasked at carrying out this initiative.
However, one of the biggest challenges the initiative faces is the politicizing of its purpose. The Malaysian political climate has seen many facets of the opposition’s criticism calling out the Mobile CTC initiative as a gimmick to harness votes. Nevertheless, the Government of Malaysia is steadfast in its goal to eradicate poverty and bridge the disparity among rural and urban citizens, as basic human rights.
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