In fact, the title of this post is an understatement of the true situation in Malaysia. According to a survey of 550 Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) conducted by AMI-Partners recently, only slightly more than 1 in 3 SMBs are aware of or believe in using a virtual private network (VPN).

The Technology

For those unfamiliar with the technology, a VPN is a private communications network used within a company or between multiple companies over a public network. In most countries, it is the most popular means for a business’ staff outside the office to communicate with computers inside the office (e.g. mail servers, project documents, etc.).

Why the Lack of Adoption?

So, why aren’t SMBs adopting the technology? For one, any implementation of a VPN implies that the company in question already has a corporate intranet - with the prerequisite servers, routers and personal computers. Not only do many small companies lack the operational budget for such expenditures, quite a number actually lack the incentive to push for more tech. Moreover, it should be rather obvious that not that many SMBs require the extended geographic connectivity or rather, secure connectivtiy afforded by VPNs.

Good or Bad?

So, is this lack of adoption of VPN technology by SMBs good or bad? Well, on the one hand, we are looking at a lack of tech savvyness among the institutions that have been labeled as “one of the best bets for Malaysian economic growth” - which further lead to the various security disadvantages of non-VPN intra-company communications from outside the office. It also goes without saying that the lack of IT security spending among SMBs is not a good indicator for our local IT security market.

But given the recent emergence of various web applications providing intra-company, or intra-group communication and collaboration services, the lack of adoption of VPN technology among small or to a certain extent, mid-size businesses which would rarely even utilize a corporate intranet to its fullest, may not be a problem at all. Look, for example, to the hit Web 2.0 services produced by 37 Signals such as Basecamp for intra-company project management and collaboration, Backpack for information organisation, or Campfire for intra-company chat sessions.

These web services are, by comparison, to a full-scale VPN, much, much cheaper, and often, equally secure with sufficient security awareness and appropriate software installed on the computers used (especially since VPNs tend to be insecure when implemented superficially).

The question is: Will SMBs take an even higher-tech road in being the early adopters of such web services in order to reap the advantages of secure and effective intra-business collaboration and communication on the cheap? After all, getting SMBs aware of VPN was tough enough - to say the least.

Thus, if you look at the lack of adoption of VPN technology among SMBs as a matter of a lack of need, then our new-fangled web services will not change the (currently discouraging) situation, nor will anything except government incentives for that matter. But if you look at it as a matter of cost effectiveness, then there is a possibility that the lack of adoption of VPN technology can be used as a platform towards pushing SMBs to cheap and effective web services which provide faster ROI (Return on Investment) - especially for small businesses which cannot possibily be expected to utilise a VPN (and the prerequisite) hardware to its fullest.

Conclusion

I would like to think that we are looking at a point where SMBs can become the catalyst towards the development of a Malaysian web services market - one filled with vibrant startups not unlike how 37 Signals once was in the US. But it is far more likely that the lack of adoption of VPN technology among SMBs at the moment is nothing more than a lack of awareness and relatively high costs of hardware as a fraction of operational expenditure for SMBs in a developing nation. This is, of course, a Bad Thing, but as analysts at AMI-Partners have noted, it is entirely likely that within the next 5 years, small businesses will account for a large proportion of Malaysia’s IT security spending.

So, thank you for reading what has become little more than a short and most likely, irrelevant rant; a divergence from a question that could easily have been answered in 200 words (or less). Hopefully though, it has managed to provide some sort of background on VPN technology and the potential of the latest web services, as well as spark thought on developing a proper web services market in Malaysia. No, Lelong does not count.

Admittedly, Malaysia has not had many great opportunities to rise to leadership in any sort of viable or high potential industries. This is compounded by the fact that Malaysia is neither the cheapest place to run a factory, nor well-equipped and well-run enough to be host to the regional HQs of the largest companies. Simply put, Malaysia today just does not have the comparative advantages available to countries like China, India or Singapore.

As such, every high potential opportunity available to our country must be pursued ardently, including the growing halal industry recently spotlighted at the inaugural World Halal Forum held at Kuala Lumpur a few weeks back. It is said to be already a US$500 billion-a-year industry, and with the ever-increasing Muslim population, the halal industry’s growth opportunities are almost infinite.

Malaysia’s key comparative advantage is clear. Malaysia is one of the very few moderate (i.e. scientifically and economically-inclined) Islamic countries in the world with the necessary infrastructure, well-diversified labour force and related resources to provide foreign multinational companies (MNCs) a stable, and relatively low-cost Islamic hub to produce, promote, export and manage their halal products. MNCs will not have to be worried about an overly aggresive religious environment, an unstable political and socio-economic climate, or a ridiculously tight regulatory framework.

In fact, Malaysia fulfills all the necessary qualities to serve as a successful platform not only for the traditional halal food market, but also for financial services and tour packages. Malaysia already has in place multiple Islamic banks with a well-documented Islamic regulatory framework, and a labour force well-suited for the Islamic tour industry given its multi-racial nature. Perhaps its simpler to say that Malaysia is well-suited to be a forerunner in the largely untapped global halal logistics industry.

So, what steps must Malaysia take? In the short to medium run, we should be looking at accelerated efforts to not only promote the strict halal certification process touted by the Government, but also attract foreign MNCs to Malaysia by offering the “standard” tax and infrastructure incentives, not unlike the Transport Ministry’s planned trade mission to Dubai. In the long run, developing a central hub for the halal industry, where supporting industries (e.g. transport and distribution) can take root, should be a key aim.

But of course, the real question still remains. Can the Goverment effectively develop the halal industry in Malaysia without creating the same problems we have seen in prior high potential industries?

Since the currency peg on the Malaysian ringgit was released, we’ve seen the ringgit rise by around 4.8 percent to its current status of US$1 = MYR3.60. While this is predominantly a good thing given its adherence to the free market principles our Government desperately hopes will propel Malaysia’s future development, it hasn’t really helped Malaysian students aiming to go overseas to study as much as we’ve hoped.

Why? Well, the two traditional tertiary education hotspots overseas, i.e. the United Kingdom and United States, have held their own on the foreign exchange market pretty well - especially in recent weeks. The Pound Sterling has recovered much of its strength in the past month, and is now close to returning to the RM 7.00 = 1 Pound threshold UK-bound students know and fear.

But there is hope for the future, at least analysts think so. Recently, it was announced by the ANZ Bank (plus some other organisations) that it is likely that the Malaysian ringgit will appreciate further over 2006 and 2007 due to strong economic prospects, and of course, a weak US dollar. Expectations of higher interest rates have also assisted the ringgit’s rise, and will help underpin a stronger ringgit.

But if the Pound Sterling continues displaying its remarkable strength… urghh, a British education will continue to be hell to pay for. At least students bound for the US have a better outlook given the strong belief that the US Dollar will continue its fall in the medium to long term.

Homosexuality is outlawed in Malaysia (as in quite a number of ASEAN countries), but that is not going to stop a gay and lesbian “travel” guide from attempting to spice up the supposedly hot gay and lesbian scene in Malaysia.

The guide in question is the Utopia Guide to Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, and is the first of such guides for these countries given their stance against homosexuality. Not surprisingly, the editor of Utopia Guides hopes that it will foster greater acceptance of homosexuality in these countries.

But the more interesting thing is that the guide claims that Malaysia has the “hottest gay scene going” (based on surveys conducted from Singapore), even though Islam is the primary religion in Malaysia, and Islam is not supportive of homosexual relationships. In fact, gay sex is punishable by jail in Malaysia.

Anyway, attempting to foster greater acceptance of homosexuality is definitely something positive as it is a major step towards a more open-minded society. But whether the Utopia Guide really aims for something like that is another story. After all, there’s some real money to be made in such a niche.

[News via CANOE Travel]

Wow. That’s a 71-year difference between the guy and the gal. You wouldn’t blink an eye at a difference of 10, 20, or even 30 years, but 71-years? And in Malaysia - an Islamic country, with generally conservative values - too.

If you thought the marriage was all about money, think again. According to news reports, the 104-year-old woman is poor. But I’ve to admit that it was my first line of thought after looking at the age difference and the fact that this is the woman’s 21st marriage. Black magic? Probably not. Sympathy? Probably yes since the guy said that he was initially attracted to her after discovering that she was “…childless, old, and alone.”

But who are we to judge? And should we even judge? With all the talk of producing an open-minded society in Malaysia, unconventional marriages should be accepted instead of looked upon cynically. Of course, I’m not telling you not to look at such issues critically…

If a Malay gets selected as Malaysia’s representative when the Russians set off to the International Space Station in October 2007, not only will he be the first Malaysian astronaut, but also the first Muslim space traveller.

And as most of you would know, devout Muslims are required to pray five times a day, and to face Mecca while doing so. Herein lies the problem, as there is serious difficulty in determining the direction the astronaut would have to pray towards in space.

But it seems a Malaysian professor over at University Kebangsaan Malaysia has already figured the problem out, and has written a computer program to calculate all that needs to be known.

So, why in the world did I blog about this? Well, it was just so… unique, wasn’t it? After all, you’re not going to see a problem like this manifest again any time soon you know.

Probably almost every blogger in Malaysia has touched on this subject before. About Public Service Deparment (PSD) scholars, especially medical ones, not returning to Malaysia to serve their bonds. About PSD scholars without even a speck of integrity, or loyalty to the country that educated them, for free too.

So, given the scenario faced by the Government, should potential scholars be protesting that PSD is sending most of their medical scholars to cheaper destinations, e.g. India, Indonesia and Russia, rather than Australia, Ireland and England? After all, not only is it expensive to send potential doctors to the UK, but also potentially foolish if you consider the excellent job prospects provided to them after they complete their studies.

Even locum doctors (temp. doctors) can be paid £1000 a week. Heck, it’s seriously tempting isn’t it? You could effectively work there and pay off your scholarship. Why return to Malaysia and get paid ridiculously low salaries in government hospitals for ten years?

However, that isn’t the whole problem. The fact is that even with the excellent salaries doctors (or engineers, etc.) are paid overseas, there are still a large number of scholars not returning to Malaysia and disregarding their bond entirely. The least they could do is repay their bonds, right? At least that way, the Government wouldn’t be losing money sending scholars overseas (as long as they are paid with market-rate interest too).

So, what should the Government do to curb this behaviour? Already, scholars that do not return to serve their bonds get referred to the Attorney-General for legal action, but since they are already overseas, that’s unlikely to result in anything substantive. Act on their family? Well, probably.

But even that is unlikely to help in the long run. In the long run, there is need to ensure that our scholars want to return home - which is something our neighbour, Singapore, has managed to do. In the past, top Singaporean scholars didn’t want to return to Singapore either. They wanted to stay in top institutions is the United Staes, and conduct research there - something that used to be impossible in Singapore. These days, however, it is rare to find a Singaporean scholar not returning to serve their bonds. After all, their career paths are lined with gold. The organisations they are bonded to are world-class organisations that anyone would love to work in, e.g. Economic Development Board, Government of Singapore Investment Corporation.

That’s exactly what we need to replicate here in Malaysia. No longer can we afford to let scholars believe that they have no future as an ex-scholar in Malaysia. Understandably, building world-class organisations for scholars to return to will take (a lot of) time, but ensuring that scholars (and the public) know where in the world they will return to and what in the world they will be doing 5 years down the road, should be a piece of cake, right?

Well, almost nobody in their right mind would dare say “horny” or “gatal” in public, but it seems certain ahmm… politicians are an exception. Mr. Abdul Fatah Harun, a MP from Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party - an opposition party by the way - recently said that single mothers were “gatal” when asking a question about aid for them.

As expected, this caused an uproar in Parliament, which was made worse by the fact that he initially refused to withdraw the word even after condemnation by the Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Sharizat Abdul Jalil. Let’s also not forget the fact that Mr. Harun hails from an Islamic-focused opposition party.

Truthfully, I’m not sure whether Mr. Harun meant to be funny or politically imbecilic. Women make up a large percentage of voters, no matter the constituency, so you do not need to be a rocket scientist to know that he has probably lost a significant number of voters - not that there were going to be many in the first place.

In any case, Mr. Harun did finally withdraw the world after continued protests, but the damage (potentially unrecoverable) has clearly been wrought.