Dr Yusminar Yunus, Director, Digital Government Division, MAMPU, Malaysia
By Chia Jie Lin
Women in GovTech 2018 Special Report.
Presently I am the Director of Digital Government Division, Malaysian Administration Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU). We are using technology, especially Information Communication Technology, to transform public service delivery for the well being of the citizens, making it more citizen centric, innovative, seamless, effective and efficient.
One of the interesting programmes that I have worked on is the Government Online Services Gateway (GOSG). This is one of the most referred portals by citizens, serving as a one-stop center to provide integrated government service delivery according to citizen’s life events, from cradle to grave. Our aim is to leave no one behind, improve citizen’s lives, with our mantra “Digital First, Citizen Focused” as one of our strategies to boost a total digitalisation of government service delivery.
In addition, MAMPU has initiated our data driven initiatives. We built an open data enabling platform in 2014 which contributes to open data ecosystem in Malaysia, connecting the open data owning agencies with users comprising government agencies, academia, industries and citizens for open data innovations either in the form of applications, data products or research.
Although the value of open data is not yet fully realised, MAMPU will continue connecting people through our various open data programs to harness the value of data and generate economic, social and environmental impact. Malaysia will also adopt the Open Data Charter (ODC) and develop an action plan to meet the Open Government Partnership (OGP) eligibility criteria towards being an open government which promotes good and transparent governance and a balanced and vibrant ecosystem for the citizen well-being.
Moreover, MAMPU in collaboration with various public sector agencies and industries have contributed to the public sector ecosystem of big data analytics. This ecosystem consists of the Public Sector Big Data Analytics Framework (DRSA), governance stucture, methodology, technology enabling platform, competency development for the data analytics/data product development based on identified business case, advisory and consultancy services, and data-driven innovation programs.
Through data-driven programs, government data and open data from various public sector agencies as well as social media data can be used to generate insights; to facilitate decision-making effectively and efficiently based on data and facts; and to enable extraction of new knowledge that is fundamental to the digitalisation agenda.
Data analytics or data products have also improved service delivery through policy and strategy improvements, cost-effectiveness and outcomes enhancements. In addition, data analytics can also contribute to a sustainable economic environment of innovation.
What has been the most exciting thing that you worked on in 2018?
Apart from GOSG and data driven programs, one of the most exciting things that I have worked on in 2018 is developing a data sharing platform which is known as Malaysian Government Central Data Exchange (MyGDX). MyGDX was established in 2018 to provide data brokerage services for information frequently referred by public sector agencies to serve their clients. MyGDX facilitates seamless data integration from multiple sources to enable information sharing by optimising resources and enable a more comprehensive and inclusive government online service delivery for citizens. Presently, we have developed 16 Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and 45 users has been using MyGDX for seamless data integration. We have received an award by OpenGov Asia 2018 for MyGDX ie ‘Recognition of excellence award’.
If you were to share one piece of advice that you learned in 2018, what would it be?
Always have passion in whatever job you are doing! No matter how difficult, try your best and always innovate for better outcome and job satisfaction.
What tool or technique particularly interests you for 2019?
In tandem with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, tools that interest me for 2019 are artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics. It is our aspiration to use IoT, artificial intelligence in data analytics, and venture into robotics towards building smart cities and a smart nation.
What are your priorities for 2019?
My priority is ensuring projects are on schedule, yield the expected outcomes and uplift Malaysia’s ranking globally.
What is one skill that has helped you the most throughout the course of your career?
Data Science (statistics, mathematic, machine learning, data mining, visualisation etc), Project Management, Information Management, Citizen Centric Design, Communication and other soft skills.
What advancements do you predict will happen in your field in the next ten years?
Malaysia will be a smart nation that improves our quality of life and uplift our happiness index.
Coffee, yoga, music… what powers you through your day?
Coffee and, of course, “Nescafe Tarik”.