Malaysian pavilion is the largest at ITU Telecom meeting in Geneva

Size matters: The Malaysian Pavilion at the ITU Telecom World 2011 conference in Geneva.

Boasting the largest display booth at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Telecom World 2011 conference, Malaysia is showcasing its technological achievements in terms of broadband and connectivity. “The launch of the Malaysian pavilion is a great leap for the country, in terms of putting us on the world map, highlighting our achievements in terms of telecommunications and also other aspects in the technology field,” said Information, Communication and Culture minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim on Tuesday.  
He said Malaysia would present its own set of principles to generate critical discussions at the ITU.

This time around, he highlighted the enforcement of law, especially in terms of social media usage, whereby the minister said users should have a sense of responsibility before disseminating any kind of information. At a plenary session themed Social Media for Social Change, Rais highlighted the need to balance the free flow of information on the Internet, particularly in social media engagement, with human values.

“We encourage innovation through the Internet and social media but it should also be balanced with positive human values, something which should be promoted also by international bodies, associations and non-governmental organisations,” he said.

He said while individuals were free to demand for freedom of expression over the social media, for example via Facebook or Twitter, there should be a sense of responsibility behind all these engagements.

 This was in response to what had happened in London recently, where postings on the social media had sparked off violent riots, which triggered a ripple effect and raised the mercury of the unrest in size and intensity. Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had passed on the baton as chairman of the International Advisory Board of the International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats (Impact) to the President of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaore.

Minister of Transports, Posts and Digital Economy, Gilbert Noel Ouegraogo represented Compaore at the handing over ceremony on Tuesday. Impact is the cybersecurity executing arm of ITU, the United Nation's specialised agency, and is the world's first comprehensive alliance against cyber threats. Currently, Malaysia acts as UN's cybersecurity hub via Impact, based in Cyberjaya, providing support to 137 sember states which are formally part of the ITU-Impact.

 This is the third time Malaysia is attending the Telecom World, featuring homegrown companies like TM, Maxis, Celcom, MSC and Measat. At least 250 world leaders ranging from heads of state and officials, city mayors, telco industry CEOs and technology gurus, of which will lead their own contingent of experts are expected to attend this year's conference held in the land of neutrality, Switzerland. While global technological giants along the likes of Huawei Technologies Co., Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Ericsson, Fujitsu, Intel, NTT Group, NTT DoCoMo, Qtel, RIM, Satorys, Swisscom, Telkom SA, Turk Telecom, TDIA, and ZTE also came in force to mark their presence.

thestar.com.my