MEDIA RELEASE

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SEARCC Drives Awareness of Year 2000

Thursday 9 July 1998 – Darwin AUSTRALIA – IT leaders from throughout the SE Asian Region today called for action on the Year 2000 issue, reinforcing the importance of both awareness and positive measures to ensure the continuity of businesses and life as we know it.

Speaking at the SEARCC’98 Conference in Darwin, leaders from 15 SEARCC member nations provided a regional snapshot of the status of preparations for the new millennium in their respective countries.

They discussed the implications of the Millennium Bug for their individual countries, calling on government, industry and the profession to work together to ensure a smooth transition to the year 2000.

"Every country is exposed to the Year 2000 problem and it is critical that we cooperate and support each other as much as possible in sharing information and resources," said SEARCC Secretary-General, Robert Iau.

"With practically full attendance by all members of the SEARCC Executive Council gathering in Darwin, this event has provided an unprecedented opportunity for members to discuss in earnest how best the region could collectively contribute to the resolution of this potential trauma," he said.

Reviewing the position statements made by a number of country members, the President of SEARCC, Prins Ralston said awareness in some of the member countries remained poor.

"There continues to be a need for further urgent measures to educate, and raise the level of awareness in both the business and public arenas.

"SEARCC can provide a facilitator role for the free and expeditious exchange of information to enable these processes to be speedily implemented. For example, by linking various Year 2000 Web sites in each country as well as providing a sector-specific focus for industries such as banking and finance, production and manufacturing.

Mr Ralston also called for business and industry to be more forthcoming in their disclosures on their respective Year 2000 remediation programs, sharing the benefits of their experiences with other like businesses.

"At this late stage, the only way to ensure the continuity of the regional economy is for organisations to consciously lower their barriers and actively seek opportunities to work within their regional industries for mutual advantage," he said.

The Bigger Picture

During the discussion on this issue, the representatives from various member countries presented a snapshot of the action taken in their respective nations with regard to Year 2000, as outlined below.

Canada

Canada revealed new survey results showing a very high level of awareness (99 per cent) of the Y2K issue among Canadian businesses.

The research, by StatsCan, found 70 per cent of all businesses were taking some action, up from 46 per cent six months ago, although one third of large firms and nearly two-thirds of medium-sized companies have no formal Year 2000 action plan.

One third of organisations claim they are ready for the new millennium.

President of the Canadian Computer Society, Gaylen Duncan, said the findings indicated there was still much work to be done, with the focus to move to contingency planning to protect against the effects of system failures.

He noted that the financial banks and telecommunications sectors have adopted information-sharing mechanisms within their industries to speed readiness among interdependent players.

Thailand

While financial organisations have moved decisively to ensure they are Y2K-compliant by June 1999, the Thai Government is driving much of the private and public sector in raising awareness of the problem.

The National Electronic and Technology Centre continues to hold regular seminars to educate businesses of the need to assess Year 2000 impacts and on April 18, the Federal Cabinet ordered all Departments to establish a Y2K committee and report back on the progress of their programs every two months.

Despite the activity to date, awareness in some market sectors remains low. A national Y2K committee has been appointed and a Y2K Centre has also been established to oversee and disseminate technical information to various industries.

Sri Lanka

The Computer Society of Sri Lanka, the Council for Information Technology (CINTEC) and various IT vendors are driving awareness of the problem in Sri Lanka, but much work is yet to be done.

Large multinational and private sector companies have addressed the issue well in advance and are on track for complete compliance well before the deadline.

The government has recently appointed a committee to monitor activities in the public sector, however, resources allocated to the Year 2000 remain inadequate and the issue now requires urgent attention.

Malaysia

The Malaysian Government has been the prime mover is creating awareness of Y2K in both the private and public sectors, with the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange tasked with ensuring all listed companies are compliant by 31 August 1998.

The Y2K readiness of the financial sector is also being monitored, with banks and other institutions asked to monitor the compliance activities of all their clients, as a means of raising awareness within the wider community.

The Government has also formed a task force under the Ministry of Science & Technology to coordinate all Y2K compliance efforts in the public sector.

Japan

Steady progress is being reported in Japan, with a survey published in April 1998 finding 40 per cent of 395 Central Government computer systems already remediated. The remaining 60 per cent are scheduled to achieve compliance by the end of 1999, while 85 per cent of local government systems have been completed.

Major industry sectors such as finance, telecommunications and energy-related industries are on track, however Y2K awareness among small to medium enterprises remains comparatively low and efforts are now being made to educate this sector.

Pakistan

Despite the establishment of a government task force in 1997, most commercial as well as government-owned enterprises have only just begun to take the Y2K issue seriously.

The government has issued instructions regarding Year 2000 compliance to all major enterprises and asked financial institutions to meet a deadline of December 1998.

The task force, which includes representatives from the Pakistan Computer Society, is recommending steps on all facets of the issue, including export opportunities for the local software industry.

Philippines

While most multinational organisations have the issue well in hand, a series of seminars, symposiums, conventions and other meetings is being staged to provide information on how to deal with the issue.

However, there has been no concerted effort to assess the possible impact of Y2K on the country’s economy and no central facility to conduct a thorough inventory of the situation or make recommendations to guide the government in taking appropriate action.

Singapore

Since 1996, the government of Singapore, together with various professional bodies, has been promoting awareness of the Y2K problem.

Several workshops and seminars have been organised to disseminate information concerning the Year 2000 problem, especially amongst SMEs. Local enterprises requiring financial assistance in tackling the problem can also apply for grants under the Local enterprises Computerisation Programme.

Y2k conversion efforts among government agencies are being carefully monitored with regular reports to Cabinet and the Monetary Authority of Singapore monitors conversion efforts in the financial sector. Most Y2K initiatives are on schedule and there should not be any major difficulties for companies to cross the millennium safely.

Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Government and major organisations began working on the Y2K issue as long ago as the early 1990s. As an early and key IT user, the Government took the lead in analysing and introducing measures to remediate its systems, with 90 per cent verified compliant by the end of 1997. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has also taken the lead to provide guidance and direction to ensure that all financial institutions resolve the problem by the end of 1998.

With the formation of the Government’s Information Technology & Broadcasting Bureau in May 1998, one of its first tasks has been to promote awareness of the issue among SMEs, which comprise over 80 per cent of Hong Kong businesses. Web sites, seminars and information hotlines are just a few of the measures being used.

The Hong Kong Computer Society is currently producing a film, for distribution on video and CD-ROM, to promote awareness and provide clear guidelines for tackling the problem.

New Zealand

Awareness of Year 2000 has been at a high level for some time, with industry bodies like the New Zealand Computer Society and the Information Technology Association of New Zealand playing active roles in promoting the issue.

This year, the NZ Government has become more pro-active, not only by requiring all Government departments and agencies to incorporate Y2K programs into their 1998/99 formal statements of intention, but also by setting up a Y2k Task Force.

The task force has a wide-ranging brief and substantial budget to ensure that as far as possible, NZ organisations are informed about Y2K and taking appropriate steps to protect themselves.

This media release is available on the ACS Web site at www.acs.org.au/news/seay2k.htm

ENDS

Media Enquiries:

Prins Ralston, ACS President, Tel: (0411) 755 069, Email: P_Ralston@ntu.edu.au

Caroline New, ACS PR Consultant, Tel: (0411) 889 456, Email: cnew@acslink.net.au