WARFARESTUDIESCMIWS

ISSUE 05 I APRIL MAY JUNE 2009 I http://cmiws.uitm.edu.my I FACULTY OF COMMUNICATION & MEDIA STUDIES I UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

UNIVERSITITEKNOLOGIMARACENTRE FOR MEDIA AND INFORMATION

WARFARE STUDIES

CMIWS........................................................BULLETINWARFARESTUDIES

CENTREFOR MEDIAANDINFORMATION

The word intelligence comes from two basic words, that is ‘inter’ and ‘leger’. ‘Inter’ means ‘in between’ and ‘leger’ means ‘read’. When we ‘read’, and understand what we have been reading and analyzing’ in between’ words, we are doing an intelligence analysis, and the final product of our analysis is called intelligence product.

Military intelligence is part and partial of military operation in the conduct of warfare. It covers all aspects of information gathering process such as analyzing, making use of information, monitoring and analyzing information environment of the enemy forces on the ground. It involves spying, look-outs, high-tech surveillance equipment, and also secret agents.

Intelligence activities in Malaysia have existed since the British time. It was the hereditary of the British Administration through which military and civilian organizations were set up by the local government to take up command and control over civilian agencies and military formations.

Malaysia’s Intelligence was developed in line with and shared by other international and regional intelligence bodies or agencies. The intelligence cooperation of this kind had enabled the Malaysian government to get outside support to fight against Communist Terrorists (CTs) at the height of Counter Insurgency Warfare (CIW). Malaysia had successfully defeated and weaken the communist movement in the so called Low Intensity Conflict – (LIC) ever since 1989. As a result, the Malayan Communist leader, Chin Peng and the Thais and Malaysian government signed the Hatyai Declaration in 1989. Malaysia’s achievement in intelligence sphere has never been recorded.

Since the formation of Defence Intelligence Staff Division (DISD/BSPP) in 1981, from a small unit called Joint Intelligence Directorate (JID) that was established in late 60s, the fight against CTs was systematically conducted using all disciplines of intelligence from combat/tactical intelligence called Military Intelligence 1 (MI 1), strategic intelligence (MI 2), imagery intelligence (MI 3), electronic warfare/electronic intelligence (MI 4), counter intelligence & espionage (MI 5), psychological operation warfare (MI 6) and special intelligence operation or covert intelligence operation (MI 7) which is not stated in the original establishment. Those seven disciplines of intelligence units had been used to counter communist insurgency movements and activities through all means political, economic, social, military and ‘underground’ movement. This intelligence disciplines also has been used to engage regional and international diplomacy and issues.

Malaysia’s World of

NTELLIGENCEIBy Col. Sani Royan Senior Lecturer Centre for Media Information and Warfare Studies

The remarkable success of Malaysia’s intelligence in using combat intelligence (MI 1) can be seen during Cahaya Bena operations (ops), Daoyai Musnah ops, Ex Gonza-les series and many others. These operations were meant to harass, to keep the enemy busy as well as to reduce the enemy’s strength and will to fight. This so-called ‘engage-ment strategy’ using combat intelligence method had proven its effectiveness in weaken-ing demoralizing and deterring the enemy to fight. Moreover, it had forced the farther south from as far down to Negeri Sembilan to as far north as Malaysia/Thai border during the ‘second Emergency’ in the 80s.

At the regional and international level, strategic intelligence (MI 2) was used as government operative intelligence unit. This unit’s function was in gathering predictive intelligence information of foreign policies in such areas as public diplomacy and political diplomacy (PD), international relations (IR), negotiations, international strategic communi-cation, maritime intelligence, confidence building measures (CBM) and others. This intelligence activity’s objective was to obtain strategic intelligence data for policy formula-tion and government’s decision making on certain international issues and events. This type of intelligence gathering had been enormously used during Mahathir’s era. Mahathir believed that information outside the country should be gathered by appropriate intelligence agencies, not by an individual like King Ghaz (Tan Sri Muhammed Ghazali bin Shafie) whose whim and fancies and personal opinion had influenced entire policies, and he also believed that, he as a Prime Minister should have prior knowledge of International foreign policy through information operation process.

For this particular reason ‘King Ghaz’, a former Foreign Minister and a ‘guru’ of foreign policy was ousted by Mahathir. During his tenure, Mahathir was seen as having an upper hand over entire Malaysian foreign policy as compared to other former Malaysian Prime Ministers whose knowledge of foreign policy depended upon ‘King Ghaz’ and other government officials.

The counter insurgency war operation against communist guerrillas in Malaysia

that used imagery intelligence (IMINT-MI 3) was quite advanced even though this type of

intelligence operation was very limited during that time. In its very nature, IMINT covering a multi-spatial

and multi-spectral dimension in photographic phenom-enon. Basically, CIW covers human phenomenon and the

surrounding environment. In the 1960s and in the early 1980s, about 50 to 55% of the Malaysian soil was covered up with primary and secondary jungle. These type of jungles are suitable for CTs to move and operate freely. The fight against communist and other indigenous enemy in such jungle were tough and compli-cated. For this particular reason, IMINT was used as a reconnais-sance tool to locate communist cadres, assault units and commu-nist terrorist organizations (CTOs), who were registered as killed or kill in Action (KIA), captured (Captured Enemy Personal–CEP) and surrendered (Surrender Enemy Personal –SEP). The IMINT was particularly used to record on film, magnetic tapes and camcorder (video), of the permanent CT camps and bases. The recorded video is used as intelligence information data that could be used for the purpose of launching an attack on CT camps. In the 80s, The

Malaysian Royal Air Force acquired a forward looking infra-red (FLIR). This new sophisticated equipment had added up strengths and advantages to the Malaysian Forces to detect and locate communist’s temporary camps in the primary jungle.

Today, in the information age, information gathering method of IMINT data has changed tremendously from traditional way of gathering information that uses aerial technology to a new method such as using remote sensing, geographical information system (GIS) and satellite imaging/intelligence (SATINT). Thus IMINT (imagery intelligence) has entered into a new dimension of information gathering method in the conduct of warfare either in conventional warfares or modern warfares IMINT becomes a useful tool for all.

MALAYSIA’S WORLD OF INTELLIGENCE

2CMIWS.UITM.EDU.MY ISSUEFIVE3

1974 up until today. No less then 11 military and civilians were taken into custody or jailed on espionage activity that involved more than Sing Dollar $ 500,000.00 (SD Five Hundred Thousand) (given to the collaborators). Although the collabora-tors were arrested and put into jail, a significant number of intelligence information including micro chips (defence of airspace of Malaysia), a master plan of defense of South Johor, and other important secret information of the nation had already been transferred to another interested party.

Espionage and Counter Intelligence (CI) is still relevant in battling against the real, potential and perceived enemy and functional through the times. The CI is fitted even to a newly developed concept of warfare so called information warfare (IW).

Psychological Operation Warfare unit (MI 6) is one of the most important units that deals with war of the mind. During the emergency this unit had launched an extensive psychological war to win the heart and mind of the local people and weaken the Communists will to fight. Tan Sri Dr Too Chee Chew or C.C. Too a “Psyworrior” and a key player in orchestrating, psyop against the communists during the emergency, was hailed as a savior of the nation, and his name was chiseled in the heart of Malaysian people for his great contribution and achievement in combating communists through psychological war.

His vast experience in psyop/psywar had made his services valuable to the military intelligence special branch (MISB) and the police special branch (SB). In the battle of heart and mind, C.C. Too used loud speaker, leaflet, posters, banners and some electronic devices as operative tools. Deceptions and ruses, rumour mongers, negotiations were also used for the purpose of formulating propaganda materials at all categories either in white, grey or black propaganda, it does not matter as long as the objective to demoralize the CTOs at the highest and lower level of movement is achieved.

With the emergence of the new media such as the Internet, the method of psyops/war has begun to take a new shape. Consid-ering all aspects, the new media is becoming a useful tool in influencing in modern society. Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, Twister and blogs and many others can be used to disseminate propaganda materials to influence readers' behavior. By looking at the potential of the new media as additional influence activity in war and conflicts, therefore they become prevalent in military influence activities. The use of the ICTs and the mass media in military influence activity is called Information Warfare (I0) and its operational measure is called information operation (I0). Although the term IW and I0 has been a subject of debate but some military analysts envisages that IW and I0 will be an impor-tant weapon of influence in the conduct of war in the future.

Electronic Warfare Unit (EW – MI 4) was established in the early 80s and EW was extensively used by the government force to undermine the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM). EW was used to detect and locate enemy’s mobile narrow casting propaganda machines like Suara Rakyat Malaya (SUARAM) and Suara Demo-cratic Malaya (SDM). EW was enormously used in the war against CTO, but little of its modus operandi (MO) was made known to the public, it is a covert operation that was not supposed to be unveiled. However, through EW many electronic intelligence data (ELINT), signal intelligence data (SIGINT) and communication intelligence data (COMINT) obtained could be very useful for operation commanders to defeat the communists.

EW has now shifted to a new contemporary setting, it becomes an intelligence operative tool that is useful to other warfares, namely strategic communication (SC), media warfare (MW), and information operation/war (IO/IW). EW is useful in conducting control over interna-tional behaviour through international relations (IR), it can be used for deception, gathering of ELINT and SIGINT data, in measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT), nuclear intelligence (NUCINT), technical intelligence (TECHINT), open source intelligence (OSINT) and psychological operations & psychological warfare (psyops & psywar).

With the advancement of communication and information technology the use of EW in all facets of intelligence has become so widespread, selling and trading secret information between secret agents, and between secret agents and civilian therefore has become common and such a situation has stigmatized Malaysian government since 1974. For instance, in 1965 when Singapore was purged out from Malaysia, it became an ‘undefended nation-state’ but with the help of Israel in 1972, Singa-pore become a ‘defended nation state’. Since then, Singapore’s espionage activities against Malaysian escalated dramatically due to Singapore’s suspicion that Singapore might be ‘sieged’ by the Malays (Melayu Nusantara). For this reason Chinese Singaporean’s had doubled their effort in intelligence activities and enhanced the strength of the Armed Force overwhelmingly so as to lessen their phobias.

For this reason also, the counter intelligence & counter espionage (CI) department (MI 5) of Malaysia was assigned to undertake a special task to detect Singapore’s espionage activity of the then Singapore Security and Intelligence Division (SID), as a result Malaysia’s counter intelligence unit had been successfully deterring the Singapore’s intelligence and agents since

The remarkable success of Malaysia’s intelligence in using combat intelligence (MI 1) can be seen during Cahaya Bena operations (ops), Daoyai Musnah ops, Ex Gonza-les series and many others. These operations were meant to harass, to keep the enemy busy as well as to reduce the enemy’s strength and will to fight. This so-called ‘engage-ment strategy’ using combat intelligence method had proven its effectiveness in weaken-ing demoralizing and deterring the enemy to fight. Moreover, it had forced the farther south from as far down to Negeri Sembilan to as far north as Malaysia/Thai border during the ‘second Emergency’ in the 80s.

At the regional and international level, strategic intelligence (MI 2) was used as government operative intelligence unit. This unit’s function was in gathering predictive intelligence information of foreign policies in such areas as public diplomacy and political diplomacy (PD), international relations (IR), negotiations, international strategic communi-cation, maritime intelligence, confidence building measures (CBM) and others. This intelligence activity’s objective was to obtain strategic intelligence data for policy formula-tion and government’s decision making on certain international issues and events. This type of intelligence gathering had been enormously used during Mahathir’s era. Mahathir believed that information outside the country should be gathered by appropriate intelligence agencies, not by an individual like King Ghaz (Tan Sri Muhammed Ghazali bin Shafie) whose whim and fancies and personal opinion had influenced entire policies, and he also believed that, he as a Prime Minister should have prior knowledge of International foreign policy through information operation process.

For this particular reason ‘King Ghaz’, a former Foreign Minister and a ‘guru’ of foreign policy was ousted by Mahathir. During his tenure, Mahathir was seen as having an upper hand over entire Malaysian foreign policy as compared to other former Malaysian Prime Ministers whose knowledge of foreign policy depended upon ‘King Ghaz’ and other government officials.

The counter insurgency war operation against communist guerrillas in Malaysia

that used imagery intelligence (IMINT-MI 3) was quite advanced even though this type of

intelligence operation was very limited during that time. In its very nature, IMINT covering a multi-spatial

and multi-spectral dimension in photographic phenom-enon. Basically, CIW covers human phenomenon and the

surrounding environment. In the 1960s and in the early 1980s, about 50 to 55% of the Malaysian soil was covered up with primary and secondary jungle. These type of jungles are suitable for CTs to move and operate freely. The fight against communist and other indigenous enemy in such jungle were tough and compli-cated. For this particular reason, IMINT was used as a reconnais-sance tool to locate communist cadres, assault units and commu-nist terrorist organizations (CTOs), who were registered as killed or kill in Action (KIA), captured (Captured Enemy Personal–CEP) and surrendered (Surrender Enemy Personal –SEP). The IMINT was particularly used to record on film, magnetic tapes and camcorder (video), of the permanent CT camps and bases. The recorded video is used as intelligence information data that could be used for the purpose of launching an attack on CT camps. In the 80s, The

Malaysian Royal Air Force acquired a forward looking infra-red (FLIR). This new sophisticated equipment had added up strengths and advantages to the Malaysian Forces to detect and locate communist’s temporary camps in the primary jungle.

Today, in the information age, information gathering method of IMINT data has changed tremendously from traditional way of gathering information that uses aerial technology to a new method such as using remote sensing, geographical information system (GIS) and satellite imaging/intelligence (SATINT). Thus IMINT (imagery intelligence) has entered into a new dimension of information gathering method in the conduct of warfare either in conventional warfares or modern warfares IMINT becomes a useful tool for all.

MALAYSIA’S WORLD OF INTELLIGENCE

2CMIWS.UITM.EDU.MY ISSUEFIVE3

1974 up until today. No less then 11 military and civilians were taken into custody or jailed on espionage activity that involved more than Sing Dollar $ 500,000.00 (SD Five Hundred Thousand) (given to the collaborators). Although the collabora-tors were arrested and put into jail, a significant number of intelligence information including micro chips (defence of airspace of Malaysia), a master plan of defense of South Johor, and other important secret information of the nation had already been transferred to another interested party.

Espionage and Counter Intelligence (CI) is still relevant in battling against the real, potential and perceived enemy and functional through the times. The CI is fitted even to a newly developed concept of warfare so called information warfare (IW).

Psychological Operation Warfare unit (MI 6) is one of the most important units that deals with war of the mind. During the emergency this unit had launched an extensive psychological war to win the heart and mind of the local people and weaken the Communists will to fight. Tan Sri Dr Too Chee Chew or C.C. Too a “Psyworrior” and a key player in orchestrating, psyop against the communists during the emergency, was hailed as a savior of the nation, and his name was chiseled in the heart of Malaysian people for his great contribution and achievement in combating communists through psychological war.

His vast experience in psyop/psywar had made his services valuable to the military intelligence special branch (MISB) and the police special branch (SB). In the battle of heart and mind, C.C. Too used loud speaker, leaflet, posters, banners and some electronic devices as operative tools. Deceptions and ruses, rumour mongers, negotiations were also used for the purpose of formulating propaganda materials at all categories either in white, grey or black propaganda, it does not matter as long as the objective to demoralize the CTOs at the highest and lower level of movement is achieved.

With the emergence of the new media such as the Internet, the method of psyops/war has begun to take a new shape. Consid-ering all aspects, the new media is becoming a useful tool in influencing in modern society. Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, Twister and blogs and many others can be used to disseminate propaganda materials to influence readers' behavior. By looking at the potential of the new media as additional influence activity in war and conflicts, therefore they become prevalent in military influence activities. The use of the ICTs and the mass media in military influence activity is called Information Warfare (I0) and its operational measure is called information operation (I0). Although the term IW and I0 has been a subject of debate but some military analysts envisages that IW and I0 will be an impor-tant weapon of influence in the conduct of war in the future.

Electronic Warfare Unit (EW – MI 4) was established in the early 80s and EW was extensively used by the government force to undermine the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM). EW was used to detect and locate enemy’s mobile narrow casting propaganda machines like Suara Rakyat Malaya (SUARAM) and Suara Demo-cratic Malaya (SDM). EW was enormously used in the war against CTO, but little of its modus operandi (MO) was made known to the public, it is a covert operation that was not supposed to be unveiled. However, through EW many electronic intelligence data (ELINT), signal intelligence data (SIGINT) and communication intelligence data (COMINT) obtained could be very useful for operation commanders to defeat the communists.

EW has now shifted to a new contemporary setting, it becomes an intelligence operative tool that is useful to other warfares, namely strategic communication (SC), media warfare (MW), and information operation/war (IO/IW). EW is useful in conducting control over interna-tional behaviour through international relations (IR), it can be used for deception, gathering of ELINT and SIGINT data, in measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT), nuclear intelligence (NUCINT), technical intelligence (TECHINT), open source intelligence (OSINT) and psychological operations & psychological warfare (psyops & psywar).

With the advancement of communication and information technology the use of EW in all facets of intelligence has become so widespread, selling and trading secret information between secret agents, and between secret agents and civilian therefore has become common and such a situation has stigmatized Malaysian government since 1974. For instance, in 1965 when Singapore was purged out from Malaysia, it became an ‘undefended nation-state’ but with the help of Israel in 1972, Singa-pore become a ‘defended nation state’. Since then, Singapore’s espionage activities against Malaysian escalated dramatically due to Singapore’s suspicion that Singapore might be ‘sieged’ by the Malays (Melayu Nusantara). For this reason Chinese Singaporean’s had doubled their effort in intelligence activities and enhanced the strength of the Armed Force overwhelmingly so as to lessen their phobias.

For this reason also, the counter intelligence & counter espionage (CI) department (MI 5) of Malaysia was assigned to undertake a special task to detect Singapore’s espionage activity of the then Singapore Security and Intelligence Division (SID), as a result Malaysia’s counter intelligence unit had been successfully deterring the Singapore’s intelligence and agents since

4CMIWS.UITM.EDU.MY

1.

2.

3.

4.

MALAYSIA’S WORLD OF INTELLIGENCE

Editorial BoardCommittees

PROF. B.A HAMZAHVISITING PROFESSOR & SENIOR FELLOW CMIWS

ASSOC. PROF. MUNIS PARANSENIOR FELLOW CMIWS

ASSOC. PROF DR. SITI ZALEHA ZAINAL ABIDINFELLOW CMIWS

COL. SANI ROYANSENIOR LECTURER CMIWS

MS. WAN ARYATI WAN GHANIACADEMIC COORDINATOR INFORMATIONWARFARE TECHNOLOGY

DR. MARIAH MUDA COORDINATOR MEDIA WARFARE

MR. SUHAIMEE SAAHAR@SAABARLECTURER

AdvisorASSOC. PROF. DR. MOHD ADNAN HASHIMDEAN FKPM

PatronTAN SRI DATO’ SERI PROF. DR. IBRAHIM ABU SHAHVICE CHANCELLOR UiTM

ASSOC. PROF. MOHD RAJIB ABD. GHANIDIRECTOR OF CMIWS

For More Information Please Contact:CENTRE FOR MEDIA AND INFORMATION WARFARE STUDIES (CMIWS)FAC. OF COMMUNICATION & MEDIA STUDIES, UiTMDW10, INTEKMA RESORT & CONVENTION CENTREPERSIARAN RAJA MUDA MUSA, SEKSYEN 740000 SHAH ALAM, SELANGOR D.ETEL: 03 5522 5328FAX: 03 5522 5326WEBSITE: http://cmiws.uitm.edu.myEMAIL: CMIWS@salam.uitm.edu.my

Other unit called (MI 7) or special operations organisation was established to deal with secret operations (ops), clandestine ops and covert ops infighting the CTs ‘under-ground’ movement and espionage activities by external organisations. These ops are planned deliberately aiming at penetrating the enemy organisations, establishing access and foot hold; building intelligence network, and developing sources and agent activities and espionage ops. This ops used quite a substantial number of secret agents (HUMINT), a very high risk and vulner- able activity that had led to the catch of numbers CTs under-ground agents.

Depending on the national policy, some intelligence agencies are engaged in clandestine and covert activities beyond espionage such as political subversion, sabotage and assassination. Other agencies strictly limit themselves to analysis, or collection and analysis; some governments have other organizations for covert action.

ReferenceMichael Russel Rip and James M. Hasik, The Precision Revolu-tion: GPS and the Future of Aerial Warfare, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, 2002, p.426.James F.Hoge Jr. and Gideon Rose (eds), How Did This Happen? Terrorism and the New War, Public Affairs, New York, 2001.Donald H. Rumsfeld, ‘Transforming the military’, Foreign Affairs, May/June 2002, vol. 8I, no. 3, p23.Dr. Michael Evans; Appointment in Samarra western strategic thought and the culture of risk, 2004.

is a prefix used to describe a person, thing, or idea as part of the computer and

information age. The term is taken from the Greek word, kybernetes, to bring the meaning of "steersman" or "governor". It was first used in cybernetics, a word coined by Norbert Wiener and made popular by Wiener's book of 1948, Cybernetics or Control and Communica-tion in the Animal and the Machine [10]. Today, the term "Cyber" is very likely to present the computer world that involves internet connection. Therefore, the cyberspace is mostly referred to as a virtual or non-physical place where people communicate and exchange information regardless of their locations.

As the computer technology evolves with powerful storage and processing powers, one cannot resist using the computer for personal or working purposes. The use of computer has spread from stand alone to team work. Therefore, privacy issues had been studied since way back in the 1960s [4], to discuss on how data should be stored and retrieved. Such discussions concerned on having large databanks with access control mechanisms. The privacy issues came into the discussions when more people need to

1. access a lot of useful existing information, and 2. communicate with others for data or information exchange

Privacy can be defined as hiding the identity or profile of an entity (person) that need to be kept from others. However, in the cyber world, the computer in which the user is using cannot be kept private once the machine is connected to a network. Each computer must have a unique identification namely an address(ip). Data and information can be hidden if and only if the user of the computer does not reveal his/her identity. In this case, during the communica-tion process, the unrevealed person is automatically referred to as anonymous.

Challenges in Privacy There are several challenges in privacy that usually arise from either computer hardware, software or the computer personnel.

1. Computer Hardware

The sensor-based systems, wireless networking, mobile and embedded devices, and other pervasive computing technologies, devices can be overrun, revealing information about their physical operating environment [5].

These will results in feelings of insecurity for the users. In mobile computing (such as mobile phone), people usually carry their data and information in the mobile devices. It is not strongly secured where the service provider can record and track people’s activities.

2. Software

Most privacy threats can be caused by various viruses. As stated by Neubauer and Harris [7], a virus is a self-replicating piece of code that is designed with malicious intent. It can cause unexpected and undesired behavior on the infected computer or on the attached network. Besides crashing the computer system, the system can gradually lose performance. The spread of the computer viruses are through portable storage (read/write enable operation) such as compact disk (CD), external hard disk or thumb drive.

Other than the virus issues, some computer applications require users to reveal themselves through registering themselves to the service providers for more privileges or as instructed by the application policies. According to Kagal et. al [6], privacy can be preserved in limited activities such as in peer-to-peer networks, grid computing environments, ad hoc networks, Web services and multi-agent systems. In these environments, users are not required to pre-identify themselves and their participations are usually dynamic. However, when the applications become more sophisticated and intelligent, the systems usually enforce some policies that require specific type of users to be able to interact with the systems.

3. Personnel

Any private data stored in a computer can be revealed through hacking. Studies undertaken by several researchers such as Rogers[9] and Floyd et. al[3] concern on type of hackers, while others (such as Venkatayogi and Bhargava [13]) focus on the underlying process of the activities. Most hackers enjoy cracking into computer systems with several intentions that include getting secret information, testing their knowledge and capabilities, and damaging the system.

Thus, once the data, information or any personal details has been stored into the computer system, its privacy can be violated in many different ways. However, sharing of data, information or resources in the cyber world gives a lot of advantages that people cannot resist.

By Assoc. Prof Dr Siti Zaleha Zainal Abidin (Fellow CMIWS)Dr Nasiroh Omar & Nor Ashikin Mohamad Kamal

(Lecturer Computer Science, Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences)

ISSUEFIVE5

4CMIWS.UITM.EDU.MY

1.

2.

3.

4.

MALAYSIA’S WORLD OF INTELLIGENCE

Editorial BoardCommittees

PROF. B.A HAMZAHVISITING PROFESSOR & SENIOR FELLOW CMIWS

ASSOC. PROF. MUNIS PARANSENIOR FELLOW CMIWS

ASSOC. PROF DR. SITI ZALEHA ZAINAL ABIDINFELLOW CMIWS

COL. SANI ROYANSENIOR LECTURER CMIWS

MS. WAN ARYATI WAN GHANIACADEMIC COORDINATOR INFORMATIONWARFARE TECHNOLOGY

DR. MARIAH MUDA COORDINATOR MEDIA WARFARE

MR. SUHAIMEE SAAHAR@SAABARLECTURER

AdvisorASSOC. PROF. DR. MOHD ADNAN HASHIMDEAN FKPM

PatronTAN SRI DATO’ SERI PROF. DR. IBRAHIM ABU SHAHVICE CHANCELLOR UiTM

ASSOC. PROF. MOHD RAJIB ABD. GHANIDIRECTOR OF CMIWS

For More Information Please Contact:CENTRE FOR MEDIA AND INFORMATION WARFARE STUDIES (CMIWS)FAC. OF COMMUNICATION & MEDIA STUDIES, UiTMDW10, INTEKMA RESORT & CONVENTION CENTREPERSIARAN RAJA MUDA MUSA, SEKSYEN 740000 SHAH ALAM, SELANGOR D.ETEL: 03 5522 5328FAX: 03 5522 5326WEBSITE: http://cmiws.uitm.edu.myEMAIL: CMIWS@salam.uitm.edu.my

Other unit called (MI 7) or special operations organisation was established to deal with secret operations (ops), clandestine ops and covert ops infighting the CTs ‘under-ground’ movement and espionage activities by external organisations. These ops are planned deliberately aiming at penetrating the enemy organisations, establishing access and foot hold; building intelligence network, and developing sources and agent activities and espionage ops. This ops used quite a substantial number of secret agents (HUMINT), a very high risk and vulner- able activity that had led to the catch of numbers CTs under-ground agents.

Depending on the national policy, some intelligence agencies are engaged in clandestine and covert activities beyond espionage such as political subversion, sabotage and assassination. Other agencies strictly limit themselves to analysis, or collection and analysis; some governments have other organizations for covert action.

ReferenceMichael Russel Rip and James M. Hasik, The Precision Revolu-tion: GPS and the Future of Aerial Warfare, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, 2002, p.426.James F.Hoge Jr. and Gideon Rose (eds), How Did This Happen? Terrorism and the New War, Public Affairs, New York, 2001.Donald H. Rumsfeld, ‘Transforming the military’, Foreign Affairs, May/June 2002, vol. 8I, no. 3, p23.Dr. Michael Evans; Appointment in Samarra western strategic thought and the culture of risk, 2004.

is a prefix used to describe a person, thing, or idea as part of the computer and

information age. The term is taken from the Greek word, kybernetes, to bring the meaning of "steersman" or "governor". It was first used in cybernetics, a word coined by Norbert Wiener and made popular by Wiener's book of 1948, Cybernetics or Control and Communica-tion in the Animal and the Machine [10]. Today, the term "Cyber" is very likely to present the computer world that involves internet connection. Therefore, the cyberspace is mostly referred to as a virtual or non-physical place where people communicate and exchange information regardless of their locations.

As the computer technology evolves with powerful storage and processing powers, one cannot resist using the computer for personal or working purposes. The use of computer has spread from stand alone to team work. Therefore, privacy issues had been studied since way back in the 1960s [4], to discuss on how data should be stored and retrieved. Such discussions concerned on having large databanks with access control mechanisms. The privacy issues came into the discussions when more people need to

1. access a lot of useful existing information, and 2. communicate with others for data or information exchange

Privacy can be defined as hiding the identity or profile of an entity (person) that need to be kept from others. However, in the cyber world, the computer in which the user is using cannot be kept private once the machine is connected to a network. Each computer must have a unique identification namely an address(ip). Data and information can be hidden if and only if the user of the computer does not reveal his/her identity. In this case, during the communica-tion process, the unrevealed person is automatically referred to as anonymous.

Challenges in Privacy There are several challenges in privacy that usually arise from either computer hardware, software or the computer personnel.

1. Computer Hardware

The sensor-based systems, wireless networking, mobile and embedded devices, and other pervasive computing technologies, devices can be overrun, revealing information about their physical operating environment [5].

These will results in feelings of insecurity for the users. In mobile computing (such as mobile phone), people usually carry their data and information in the mobile devices. It is not strongly secured where the service provider can record and track people’s activities.

2. Software

Most privacy threats can be caused by various viruses. As stated by Neubauer and Harris [7], a virus is a self-replicating piece of code that is designed with malicious intent. It can cause unexpected and undesired behavior on the infected computer or on the attached network. Besides crashing the computer system, the system can gradually lose performance. The spread of the computer viruses are through portable storage (read/write enable operation) such as compact disk (CD), external hard disk or thumb drive.

Other than the virus issues, some computer applications require users to reveal themselves through registering themselves to the service providers for more privileges or as instructed by the application policies. According to Kagal et. al [6], privacy can be preserved in limited activities such as in peer-to-peer networks, grid computing environments, ad hoc networks, Web services and multi-agent systems. In these environments, users are not required to pre-identify themselves and their participations are usually dynamic. However, when the applications become more sophisticated and intelligent, the systems usually enforce some policies that require specific type of users to be able to interact with the systems.

3. Personnel

Any private data stored in a computer can be revealed through hacking. Studies undertaken by several researchers such as Rogers[9] and Floyd et. al[3] concern on type of hackers, while others (such as Venkatayogi and Bhargava [13]) focus on the underlying process of the activities. Most hackers enjoy cracking into computer systems with several intentions that include getting secret information, testing their knowledge and capabilities, and damaging the system.

Thus, once the data, information or any personal details has been stored into the computer system, its privacy can be violated in many different ways. However, sharing of data, information or resources in the cyber world gives a lot of advantages that people cannot resist.

By Assoc. Prof Dr Siti Zaleha Zainal Abidin (Fellow CMIWS)Dr Nasiroh Omar & Nor Ashikin Mohamad Kamal

(Lecturer Computer Science, Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences)

ISSUEFIVE5

Some sharing activities require people to reveal their identities and leave the trust to the service providers. To keep or protect the privacy, some mechanisms must be applied to ensure that the data or information must not fall into the hands of the wrong people. These mechanisms are within the security issues.

Cyber Security

In the broadest sense, a cyber security is defined as a blend of computer and network security [2]. The term refers to a greater magnitude of security which include not only protecting the computer systems (that hold data about citizens, corporations, and government agencies) but also the networks (that connect the computers such as the infrastructure of networks, routers, domain name servers, and switches).

According to Amoroso [1], cyber security involves reducing the risk of malicious attack to software, computers and networks. In other words, the computers and networks are secured in order to prevent the computer systems from failure to communicate with each other accurately or reliably.

Challenges to Security

Cyber security is concerned with the vulnerability of computers and networks to hostile attacks or threats. Thus, the attacks can be classified into two types: attacks to the computer itself and attack to the network that glue many computers together either the computers are located locally or globally.

1. Computer Attacks

Wilson [14] defines a computer attack as “actions directed against computer systems to disrupt equipment operations, change processing control, or corrupt stored data”. He describes two methods of computer attacks: physical and electronic.

A physical attack refers to attack which involves conventional weapon against computers or networks. The attack will disrupt both computer equipment and data. The attacks mostly start with unauthorized physical access and might be posed via various means such as conventional weapons, heat, blast and manipulation of wiring or equipment.

On the other hand, an electronic attack refers to the use of power electromagnetic energy (to overload computer circuitry) or a stream of malicious digital code (to disturb microwave radio transmission). The main purpose of this kind of attacks is to disrupt the reliability of the computers and to deter the reliability of the networks.

2. Cyber Attacks

Wilson [14] suggests that cyber attacks are targeted to computers and networks which have some pre-existing system flaw that are prone to digital exploitation (e.g. a software error, a lack of antivirus protection or a faulty system configuration). Nissenbaum [8] roughly categorizes cyber attacks into three categories:

a) Threats posed via the use of networked computers by groups of people.

Example:

i. Groups of antisocial people who use their websites to promote racial and ethnic’ hatred or tension.ii. Groups of hackers who use their computer sites to coordinate the crimes (fraud).iii. Groups of people who deliver pornography.iv. Groups of people who induce terrorist actions and plan terrorist attacks.

b) Threats of attacks on critical national infrastructures due to the dependency of the infrastructure sectors on networked informa-tion systems.

Example of national infrastructures:

i. Utilities (example: electrical power).ii. Communications media (example: roads, satellite receivers, broadband).iii. Government administration.iv. Education.v. Healthcare.

c) Threats to networked information system itself ranging from various levels of malfunc-tion to the total disruption of the system.

The Pillars of Cyber Security

Trien et. al. [11] state five pillars of cyber security:

1) Pillar 1:

Risk assessment and evaluation for complex distributed systems

This pillar suggests that there should be risk monitoring systems which are able to assess the status of security in real-time of any complex

networked and distributed computer systems. Currently, the process of identifying the cyber risks rely on post mortem analysis, which is too late and the damaged has been done.

2) Pillar 2:

Knowledge discovery for detection and forensic

This pillar states the need to have new real-time knowledge discovery and data mining techniques which able to investigate and detect:

a) The current scientific systems which produce enormous amounts of data.b) The current grid computing systems which use numerous network transactions simultaneously.

3) Pillar 3:

Active response to attack

This pillar identifies the need to have security systems which can produce active response to counter attack the incoming threats. Such system is needed due to:

a) The 100 percent secure general-purpose computing systems are not available or possible.b) The speed of attack and the ensuing spread of system damage is more rapid than what a human can manage.

4) Pillar 4:

Attack deterrence

This pillar suggests that the security of future systems should have been enhanced by embedding the understanding of motivations of attackers and methods for deterring attacks.

5) Pillar 5:

Hardware as a security enabler in special-ized systems

This pillar suggests that complex computer systems and networks should employ well-designed and customize hardware in order to enable system security and reduce the number of potential attack that are unknown to system’s users or maintainers.

However, these pillars require cyber security controls to mitigate the risk of cyber attacks.

C y b e r W o r l d : F r o m P r i v a c y t o S e c u r i t y

6CMIWS.UITM.EDU.MY

Cyber Security Controls

To secure critical information or privacy from cyber attacks, controls need to be applied. According to GAO [12], controls are divided into five categories; access controls, system integrity, cryptography, audit and monitoring, and configuration management and assurance.

1. Access Control

In access control category, only authorized users can access and use computer, networks and store information. These controls will protect sensitive data, system and network from unauthorized access. There are three different types of technology under this category; boundary protection, content management and authentication and authorization.

a) Boundary protection is used to protect a network using firewall. Firewall prevents access to the network or computer by external unauthorized users.b) Content management restricts the system or network users to access beyond system or network boundaries. c) Authentication involves something that a user knows and has the ownership.For an example, automated teller machine (ATM) use a bank card which is something that a user has and knows to enter the correct pin number. Authentication is divided into two technologies; biometric and smart tokens.

i) Biometric technology automates the user’s identification using physical characteristics. Example of biometric identification involves using iris, fingerprint and face recognition. ii) Smart tokens use an integrated circuit embedded in a smart card which contain identity of a particular person.

2. System Integrity

System integrity control is divided into two technologies; antivirus software and integrity checkers.

a) Antivirus software can protect computer against malicious codes such as viruses, worms and Trojan horses. Antivirus needs to be updated regularly in order to detect new viruses.

b) Integrity checkers involves monitor modification or alterations to files. Integrity checkers acts like an audit trail whereby any changes that occur to a file will be recorded.

3. Cryptography

Cryptography uses special codes to protect information. It can be divided into two; digital signatures and certificates, and virtual private network (VPN).

a) Digital signatures and certificates ensure that the sender and the recipient of a message will be identified uniquely and data that is being sent have not been altered.

b) In virtual private network (VPN) technology, user in different locations established network connection over private network using public network.

4. Audit and Monitoring

There are four technologies under this control; Intrusion Detection System (IDS), Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), security event correlation tools and computer forensics tools.

a) Intrusion Detection System (IDS) detect incorrect or inappropriate activities on a network or computer system. IDS consist of one or many sensors used to detect and report security vulnerabilities.

b) Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) is built on IDS to detect attacks on a network and take action to prevent them from being successful.

c) Security event correlation tools analyze and monitor actions on network devices and determine if an attack is ongoing or has occurred.

d) Computer forensic tools help to identify, preserve, extract and document computer-based evidence.

5. Configuration Management and Assurance

Technologies under this category include policy enforcement application, network management, continuity of operations tools, scanners and patch management.

a) Policy enforcement application technology is used by system administrators to engage in centralized monitoring of organization’s security policies.

b) Network management controls the configurations, security and performance of a network.

c) In order to ensure all operations in an organi-zation run smoothly, operations data needs to have backup. This will ensure data availability in the event of emergency during maintenance time.

d) Scanners technology is used by organiza-tions to scan computer or network for security vulnerabilities.

e) The patch management is used to monitor patches that have been applied and need to be applied to computer system.

References

Amoroso, E. (2007). Cyber Security. Silicon PressBishop, M. (2003). What is computer security? Security & Privacy, IEEE, 1(1), 67-69Floyd, Kevin, Harrington, Susan J. and Hivale, Prachi, The Autotelic Propensity of Types of Hackers, Proceedings of the 4th annual confer-ence on Information security curriculum develop-ment, 2007Hoffman, Lance J., Computers and Privacy, Computing Survey, Vol. 1, No 2, June 1969Hong, Jason, Satyanarayanan, Mahadev, Cybenko, George, Guest Editors' Introduction: Security & Privacy, IEEE Pervasive Computing, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 15-17, Oct.-Dec. 2007Kagal, Lalana, Finin, Tim, Joshi, Anupam, Greenspan Sol, Security and Privacy Challenges in Open and Dynamic Environments, Computer, vol. 39, no. 6, pp. 89-91, June 2006.Neubauer, Bruce J. and Harris, James D. , Protec-tion of computer systems from computer viruses: ethical and practical issues, Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, vol 18 issue 1, October 2002 [10] Nissenbaum, H. (2005). Where Computer Security Meets National Security. Journal Ethics and Information Technology 7(2), 61-73Rogers, Marcus K., Two-Dimensional Circumplex Approach To The Development Of A Hacker Taxonomy, Digital Investigation, Vol 3 Issue 2, June 2006, p97-102TechTarget,Whatis.com ,http://searchsoa. techtarget.comTrien, J., Abercrombie, R. K., & Sheldon, F. T. (2008). 4th Annual Cyber Security and Informa-tion Intelligence Research Workshop. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 4th Annual Workshop on Cyber Security and Information Intelligence Research: Developing Strategies to Meet the Cyber Security and Information Intelligence Challenges Ahead.United States General Accounting Office. Technol-ogy Assessment: Cybersecurity for Critical Infrastructure Protection. GAO-04-321. May 2004. www.gao.gov/new.items/d04321.pdfVenkatayogi, Pranathi and Bhargava, Bharat, Hacker: An Intelligent Learning Agent, CERIAS Tech Report 2002-25, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907Wilson, J. (2003). Computer Attacks and Cyber Terrorism: Vulnerabilities and Policy Issues for Congress, Congressional Research Service: The Library of Congress.

ISSUEFIVE7

Some sharing activities require people to reveal their identities and leave the trust to the service providers. To keep or protect the privacy, some mechanisms must be applied to ensure that the data or information must not fall into the hands of the wrong people. These mechanisms are within the security issues.

Cyber Security

In the broadest sense, a cyber security is defined as a blend of computer and network security [2]. The term refers to a greater magnitude of security which include not only protecting the computer systems (that hold data about citizens, corporations, and government agencies) but also the networks (that connect the computers such as the infrastructure of networks, routers, domain name servers, and switches).

According to Amoroso [1], cyber security involves reducing the risk of malicious attack to software, computers and networks. In other words, the computers and networks are secured in order to prevent the computer systems from failure to communicate with each other accurately or reliably.

Challenges to Security

Cyber security is concerned with the vulnerability of computers and networks to hostile attacks or threats. Thus, the attacks can be classified into two types: attacks to the computer itself and attack to the network that glue many computers together either the computers are located locally or globally.

1. Computer Attacks

Wilson [14] defines a computer attack as “actions directed against computer systems to disrupt equipment operations, change processing control, or corrupt stored data”. He describes two methods of computer attacks: physical and electronic.

A physical attack refers to attack which involves conventional weapon against computers or networks. The attack will disrupt both computer equipment and data. The attacks mostly start with unauthorized physical access and might be posed via various means such as conventional weapons, heat, blast and manipulation of wiring or equipment.

On the other hand, an electronic attack refers to the use of power electromagnetic energy (to overload computer circuitry) or a stream of malicious digital code (to disturb microwave radio transmission). The main purpose of this kind of attacks is to disrupt the reliability of the computers and to deter the reliability of the networks.

2. Cyber Attacks

Wilson [14] suggests that cyber attacks are targeted to computers and networks which have some pre-existing system flaw that are prone to digital exploitation (e.g. a software error, a lack of antivirus protection or a faulty system configuration). Nissenbaum [8] roughly categorizes cyber attacks into three categories:

a) Threats posed via the use of networked computers by groups of people.

Example:

i. Groups of antisocial people who use their websites to promote racial and ethnic’ hatred or tension.ii. Groups of hackers who use their computer sites to coordinate the crimes (fraud).iii. Groups of people who deliver pornography.iv. Groups of people who induce terrorist actions and plan terrorist attacks.

b) Threats of attacks on critical national infrastructures due to the dependency of the infrastructure sectors on networked informa-tion systems.

Example of national infrastructures:

i. Utilities (example: electrical power).ii. Communications media (example: roads, satellite receivers, broadband).iii. Government administration.iv. Education.v. Healthcare.

c) Threats to networked information system itself ranging from various levels of malfunc-tion to the total disruption of the system.

The Pillars of Cyber Security

Trien et. al. [11] state five pillars of cyber security:

1) Pillar 1:

Risk assessment and evaluation for complex distributed systems

This pillar suggests that there should be risk monitoring systems which are able to assess the status of security in real-time of any complex

networked and distributed computer systems. Currently, the process of identifying the cyber risks rely on post mortem analysis, which is too late and the damaged has been done.

2) Pillar 2:

Knowledge discovery for detection and forensic

This pillar states the need to have new real-time knowledge discovery and data mining techniques which able to investigate and detect:

a) The current scientific systems which produce enormous amounts of data.b) The current grid computing systems which use numerous network transactions simultaneously.

3) Pillar 3:

Active response to attack

This pillar identifies the need to have security systems which can produce active response to counter attack the incoming threats. Such system is needed due to:

a) The 100 percent secure general-purpose computing systems are not available or possible.b) The speed of attack and the ensuing spread of system damage is more rapid than what a human can manage.

4) Pillar 4:

Attack deterrence

This pillar suggests that the security of future systems should have been enhanced by embedding the understanding of motivations of attackers and methods for deterring attacks.

5) Pillar 5:

Hardware as a security enabler in special-ized systems

This pillar suggests that complex computer systems and networks should employ well-designed and customize hardware in order to enable system security and reduce the number of potential attack that are unknown to system’s users or maintainers.

However, these pillars require cyber security controls to mitigate the risk of cyber attacks.

C y b e r W o r l d : F r o m P r i v a c y t o S e c u r i t y

6CMIWS.UITM.EDU.MY

Cyber Security Controls

To secure critical information or privacy from cyber attacks, controls need to be applied. According to GAO [12], controls are divided into five categories; access controls, system integrity, cryptography, audit and monitoring, and configuration management and assurance.

1. Access Control

In access control category, only authorized users can access and use computer, networks and store information. These controls will protect sensitive data, system and network from unauthorized access. There are three different types of technology under this category; boundary protection, content management and authentication and authorization.

a) Boundary protection is used to protect a network using firewall. Firewall prevents access to the network or computer by external unauthorized users.b) Content management restricts the system or network users to access beyond system or network boundaries. c) Authentication involves something that a user knows and has the ownership.For an example, automated teller machine (ATM) use a bank card which is something that a user has and knows to enter the correct pin number. Authentication is divided into two technologies; biometric and smart tokens.

i) Biometric technology automates the user’s identification using physical characteristics. Example of biometric identification involves using iris, fingerprint and face recognition. ii) Smart tokens use an integrated circuit embedded in a smart card which contain identity of a particular person.

2. System Integrity

System integrity control is divided into two technologies; antivirus software and integrity checkers.

a) Antivirus software can protect computer against malicious codes such as viruses, worms and Trojan horses. Antivirus needs to be updated regularly in order to detect new viruses.

b) Integrity checkers involves monitor modification or alterations to files. Integrity checkers acts like an audit trail whereby any changes that occur to a file will be recorded.

3. Cryptography

Cryptography uses special codes to protect information. It can be divided into two; digital signatures and certificates, and virtual private network (VPN).

a) Digital signatures and certificates ensure that the sender and the recipient of a message will be identified uniquely and data that is being sent have not been altered.

b) In virtual private network (VPN) technology, user in different locations established network connection over private network using public network.

4. Audit and Monitoring

There are four technologies under this control; Intrusion Detection System (IDS), Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), security event correlation tools and computer forensics tools.

a) Intrusion Detection System (IDS) detect incorrect or inappropriate activities on a network or computer system. IDS consist of one or many sensors used to detect and report security vulnerabilities.

b) Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) is built on IDS to detect attacks on a network and take action to prevent them from being successful.

c) Security event correlation tools analyze and monitor actions on network devices and determine if an attack is ongoing or has occurred.

d) Computer forensic tools help to identify, preserve, extract and document computer-based evidence.

5. Configuration Management and Assurance

Technologies under this category include policy enforcement application, network management, continuity of operations tools, scanners and patch management.

a) Policy enforcement application technology is used by system administrators to engage in centralized monitoring of organization’s security policies.

b) Network management controls the configurations, security and performance of a network.

c) In order to ensure all operations in an organi-zation run smoothly, operations data needs to have backup. This will ensure data availability in the event of emergency during maintenance time.

d) Scanners technology is used by organiza-tions to scan computer or network for security vulnerabilities.

e) The patch management is used to monitor patches that have been applied and need to be applied to computer system.

References

Amoroso, E. (2007). Cyber Security. Silicon PressBishop, M. (2003). What is computer security? Security & Privacy, IEEE, 1(1), 67-69Floyd, Kevin, Harrington, Susan J. and Hivale, Prachi, The Autotelic Propensity of Types of Hackers, Proceedings of the 4th annual confer-ence on Information security curriculum develop-ment, 2007Hoffman, Lance J., Computers and Privacy, Computing Survey, Vol. 1, No 2, June 1969Hong, Jason, Satyanarayanan, Mahadev, Cybenko, George, Guest Editors' Introduction: Security & Privacy, IEEE Pervasive Computing, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 15-17, Oct.-Dec. 2007Kagal, Lalana, Finin, Tim, Joshi, Anupam, Greenspan Sol, Security and Privacy Challenges in Open and Dynamic Environments, Computer, vol. 39, no. 6, pp. 89-91, June 2006.Neubauer, Bruce J. and Harris, James D. , Protec-tion of computer systems from computer viruses: ethical and practical issues, Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, vol 18 issue 1, October 2002 [10] Nissenbaum, H. (2005). Where Computer Security Meets National Security. Journal Ethics and Information Technology 7(2), 61-73Rogers, Marcus K., Two-Dimensional Circumplex Approach To The Development Of A Hacker Taxonomy, Digital Investigation, Vol 3 Issue 2, June 2006, p97-102TechTarget,Whatis.com ,http://searchsoa. techtarget.comTrien, J., Abercrombie, R. K., & Sheldon, F. T. (2008). 4th Annual Cyber Security and Informa-tion Intelligence Research Workshop. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 4th Annual Workshop on Cyber Security and Information Intelligence Research: Developing Strategies to Meet the Cyber Security and Information Intelligence Challenges Ahead.United States General Accounting Office. Technol-ogy Assessment: Cybersecurity for Critical Infrastructure Protection. GAO-04-321. May 2004. www.gao.gov/new.items/d04321.pdfVenkatayogi, Pranathi and Bhargava, Bharat, Hacker: An Intelligent Learning Agent, CERIAS Tech Report 2002-25, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907Wilson, J. (2003). Computer Attacks and Cyber Terrorism: Vulnerabilities and Policy Issues for Congress, Congressional Research Service: The Library of Congress.

ISSUEFIVE7

The Malaysian government’s pivotal role characterised by the adoption of policies to boost Internet access and in the development of the multimedia sector and services, the deregulation of the telecommunication sector and intensive IT literacy campaigns, were catalytic in paving the way towards the making of a well-informed and wired Malaysian society, one which is satisfactorily high in computer literacy and Internet usage.

The advent of new information and communication technolo-gies and telemedia delivery systems in the last three decades has witnessed unprecedented growth and expansion of the state-of-the-art transmission capability and network capacity. Apart from enhancing the manner, speed and volume by which data, voice and visual images are communicated across the globe, transoceanic space borne and fibre-optic subma-rine communications also have widened spectrum choices besides expanding the scope via which the intellectual and creative communities can share their works with the public.

Today, we have what is commonly known as the multichannel environment, the “tube of plenty” [or could it be “more of the same thing”?] and the existence of a global telemedia marketplace. When we first initiated the broadcasting sequence at the then School of Mass Communications (ITM) in l973, I remembered lecturers training broadcasting majors to eventually find work at the government-owned RTM (Radio-Televisyen Malaysia) and Filem Negara (formerly, the Malayan Filem Unit).

Apart from enhancing the manner, speed and volume by which data, voice and visual images are com-

municated across the globe, trans-oceanic space borne and fibre-optic

submarine communications also have widened spectrum choices besides expanding the scope via

which the intellectual and creative communities can share their works

with the public.

When Alexander Graham Bell worked on inventing the telephone in 1876, he envisioned the communication tool being able to provide entrepreneurs in particular with a service he described as a business of the most remunerative kind. Bell perceived the immense value of the telephone not only to commerce but also to the general public: a service which everyone eventually could afford and one which could generate a lot of money. That was 130 years ago. And true to his prediction, his invention had spawned what is today worth an estimated U.S.$250 billion dollar sector -- arguably the healthiest and most stable -- of the global economy. Much of the net worth of the sector today has been closely linked to and boosted by the availability of the Internet and the World Wide Web since the mid-eighties. The convergence of ICT and broadcasting in the last decade, in particular, has significantly contributed to the development and expansion of the telecommuni-cations sector, its related services and revenues across the globe.

And ninety years since the invention of the telephone, ‘Early Bird’, the first commercial communication satellite was launched into geosynchronous orbit on April 6, 1965. And since then, terrestrial communication by satellite has significantly improved in terms of coverage, capacity, command and control procedures, and orbital maneovre life as newly independent countries invest millions of dollars to improved domestic as well international telecommunica-tions in the post colonial era. Since the first telegraph line was installed in 1896, the telecommunications sector in Malaysia has witnessed and has undergone unprecedented growth and expansion in state-of-the-art transmission technology and network capacity.

Malaysia’s entry into the realm of commercial satellite operations was characterised with the landmark launching of MEASAT 1 on January 13, 1996. In tandem with the development in microelec-tronics and IT, the nation ushered in an era commonly referred to as the Communications Revolution and the so-called Information Age and, eventually, the embracing of the K- Economy.

Associate Professor Dr. Baharuddin Aziz Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, UiTM

The Next Big Thing? TV On Your Mobile:

Introduction & Brief History

8CMIWS.UITM.EDU.MY

Today, the existence of a multichannel-multimedia environment dicates that we continually update our knowledge and skills to prepare students to take on jobs related to the production of creative-interactive content for a multiplicity of channels and the efficient management of no-longer scarce resources, smart conduits and digital networks in a global setting: a challenging task shaped and inspired by the ever changing media landscape.

And digital tv on the mobile phone is poised and predicted to become a formidable industry in itself. It is about to further alter the media landscape and it has far reaching implications on the regulatory framework, spectrum choice, content creation whilst promising to create an estimated 22,000 job opportunities particularly amongst the younger generation besides combining the skills of the people already in broadcasting and telecommunication sectors. Also if properly executed, there is the promise of ample revenues to be made from WDVT (Wireless Digital Video Telephony) or mobile tv through the transmission of content anytime, anywhere, and on the go.

Today, content for satellite and cable television and other digital animated works like video games and cartoons are making their appearance on mobile handsets as downloads and as streamed services.

Currently, South Korea holds the distinction of leading the pack of nations dedicating their energies and attention to developing direct broadcast digital telemedia delivery systems and content to cell phone users. TU Media Corp., an affiliate of the giant SK Telekom, on Labour Day 2005, launched the world’s first commercial service delivering broadcast television to cell phone users: 7 video and 20 audio channels with a capacity to expand to 40 in the near future. High-end digital tv cell phones developed by Samsung utilising very fast and reliable custom-produced Texas Instrument micro semi-conductors have paved the way for digital tv to become a hot application in the first half of the year (2005). Advanced multimedia processor technology like the ones developed by Texas Instrument has the capacity to enable users to receive Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB)

signals from satellites or from a seamless network of terresterial transmitters or hot-spots. Korea’s state-backed Electronics & Telecommunication Research Institute (ETRI) anticipates that the mobile “tv in your palm” service will develop to become a U.S.$35 billion annual business globally, with a potential to create 88,000 jobs in Korea alone. Reflecting optimistically on the high appetite amongst Korean cell phone users for watching their favourite programmes and live broadcasts anytime, anywhere, the President of Texas Instrument Asia, Terry Cheng remarked:

“….the acceleration of mobile digital TV adoption is well underway in the technology-savvy Korean market….and TI [Texas Instrument] is proud to be a part of this growth combining its strengths with Samsung to deliver a new and better user experience to countless Korean made phone users.”

Cheng’s remarks are being echoed elsewhere where mobile tv transmission tests are currently being carried out. There seems to be a prevailing sense of euphoria surrounding the entry of a new conduit for amassing the delivery of digital but yet to be de-massified media content as had happened in Japan. UCLA’s Asiamedia reported that in Japan, the nation’s six major television networks -- NHK, TBS, NTV, TV Asahi, Fuji TV and TV Tokyo – have all entered into an agreement to beam high-quality TV images to mobile phone users. Economies of scale dictate that the mass markets in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya be the initial prime targets of this new service relayed to hand phones developed by Vodafone. This new service is expected to be launced in early 2006.

In Britain, NTL Broadcast and cellular phone company O2 are working together on a mobile tv iniative in and around the Oxford area while similar trials are being carried out in France, Finland, and in the United States with DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld) digital television beamed to high-end cellular phones. Besides Korea and Japan, Taiwan and Singapore have also joined in the fray to develop mobile tv systems and test transmis-sions that could well put large screens into cellphone users’ pockets and offering infotainment fare on-the-go.

While others are experimenting with mobile tv, we in Malaysia have just witnessed the much awaited launching of 3G (Third generation mobile telephony) applications and transmission systems. 3G service is currently being offered by two major cellular companies: Celcom and Maxis. Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Mohd. Najib Tun Abdul Razak described Celcom’s 3G launch as marking another milestone in the development of telecom-munication and “heralding a new era in mobility that has opened up a world of possibilities for the power of true connec-tion”, He hopes that the “subscription to 3G must not be so high that it would be only available to certain classes of people”. Meanwhile, Malaysian Minister for Energy, Water and Communications, Datuk Seri Dr. Lim Keng Yaik chided cell phone companies over poor reception quality while launching Maxis 3G – the first prepaid service in the country -- on July 1, 2005:

“Do not make empty promises and leave customers facing problems of poor quality and coverage later. I have encountered problems with my mobile services. Performance is incredibly important for both the network and handsets. There is no use having high-tech equipment and products when you cannot deliver the services.”

Use of 3G among Malaysians is at the early adoption stage as Maxis and Celcom strive to improve network capacity for seamless connections at least in the more urban areas in Peninsular Malaysia. Although its utilisation will be centred on speedy Internet connection, 3G is also seen as a forerunner to the implementation of mobile TV in the country.

Unsatisfactory audio and video signals and slow download time are seen as a major impediments to steady subscription growth apart from cost of data card and other start-ups. Another drawback is the limited coverage which is confined to metropolitan areas with powerful hot spots that have access to 3G coverage. These factors aside, users are also wary about getting more of the same thing – ie. content that are already available on satellite television. In other words, users are less keen to watch

2. The Present Mobile TV landscape

ISSUEFIVE9

The Malaysian government’s pivotal role characterised by the adoption of policies to boost Internet access and in the development of the multimedia sector and services, the deregulation of the telecommunication sector and intensive IT literacy campaigns, were catalytic in paving the way towards the making of a well-informed and wired Malaysian society, one which is satisfactorily high in computer literacy and Internet usage.

The advent of new information and communication technolo-gies and telemedia delivery systems in the last three decades has witnessed unprecedented growth and expansion of the state-of-the-art transmission capability and network capacity. Apart from enhancing the manner, speed and volume by which data, voice and visual images are communicated across the globe, transoceanic space borne and fibre-optic subma-rine communications also have widened spectrum choices besides expanding the scope via which the intellectual and creative communities can share their works with the public.

Today, we have what is commonly known as the multichannel environment, the “tube of plenty” [or could it be “more of the same thing”?] and the existence of a global telemedia marketplace. When we first initiated the broadcasting sequence at the then School of Mass Communications (ITM) in l973, I remembered lecturers training broadcasting majors to eventually find work at the government-owned RTM (Radio-Televisyen Malaysia) and Filem Negara (formerly, the Malayan Filem Unit).

Apart from enhancing the manner, speed and volume by which data, voice and visual images are com-

municated across the globe, trans-oceanic space borne and fibre-optic

submarine communications also have widened spectrum choices besides expanding the scope via

which the intellectual and creative communities can share their works

with the public.

When Alexander Graham Bell worked on inventing the telephone in 1876, he envisioned the communication tool being able to provide entrepreneurs in particular with a service he described as a business of the most remunerative kind. Bell perceived the immense value of the telephone not only to commerce but also to the general public: a service which everyone eventually could afford and one which could generate a lot of money. That was 130 years ago. And true to his prediction, his invention had spawned what is today worth an estimated U.S.$250 billion dollar sector -- arguably the healthiest and most stable -- of the global economy. Much of the net worth of the sector today has been closely linked to and boosted by the availability of the Internet and the World Wide Web since the mid-eighties. The convergence of ICT and broadcasting in the last decade, in particular, has significantly contributed to the development and expansion of the telecommuni-cations sector, its related services and revenues across the globe.

And ninety years since the invention of the telephone, ‘Early Bird’, the first commercial communication satellite was launched into geosynchronous orbit on April 6, 1965. And since then, terrestrial communication by satellite has significantly improved in terms of coverage, capacity, command and control procedures, and orbital maneovre life as newly independent countries invest millions of dollars to improved domestic as well international telecommunica-tions in the post colonial era. Since the first telegraph line was installed in 1896, the telecommunications sector in Malaysia has witnessed and has undergone unprecedented growth and expansion in state-of-the-art transmission technology and network capacity.

Malaysia’s entry into the realm of commercial satellite operations was characterised with the landmark launching of MEASAT 1 on January 13, 1996. In tandem with the development in microelec-tronics and IT, the nation ushered in an era commonly referred to as the Communications Revolution and the so-called Information Age and, eventually, the embracing of the K- Economy.

Associate Professor Dr. Baharuddin Aziz Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, UiTM

The Next Big Thing? TV On Your Mobile:

Introduction & Brief History

8CMIWS.UITM.EDU.MY

Today, the existence of a multichannel-multimedia environment dicates that we continually update our knowledge and skills to prepare students to take on jobs related to the production of creative-interactive content for a multiplicity of channels and the efficient management of no-longer scarce resources, smart conduits and digital networks in a global setting: a challenging task shaped and inspired by the ever changing media landscape.

And digital tv on the mobile phone is poised and predicted to become a formidable industry in itself. It is about to further alter the media landscape and it has far reaching implications on the regulatory framework, spectrum choice, content creation whilst promising to create an estimated 22,000 job opportunities particularly amongst the younger generation besides combining the skills of the people already in broadcasting and telecommunication sectors. Also if properly executed, there is the promise of ample revenues to be made from WDVT (Wireless Digital Video Telephony) or mobile tv through the transmission of content anytime, anywhere, and on the go.

Today, content for satellite and cable television and other digital animated works like video games and cartoons are making their appearance on mobile handsets as downloads and as streamed services.

Currently, South Korea holds the distinction of leading the pack of nations dedicating their energies and attention to developing direct broadcast digital telemedia delivery systems and content to cell phone users. TU Media Corp., an affiliate of the giant SK Telekom, on Labour Day 2005, launched the world’s first commercial service delivering broadcast television to cell phone users: 7 video and 20 audio channels with a capacity to expand to 40 in the near future. High-end digital tv cell phones developed by Samsung utilising very fast and reliable custom-produced Texas Instrument micro semi-conductors have paved the way for digital tv to become a hot application in the first half of the year (2005). Advanced multimedia processor technology like the ones developed by Texas Instrument has the capacity to enable users to receive Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB)

signals from satellites or from a seamless network of terresterial transmitters or hot-spots. Korea’s state-backed Electronics & Telecommunication Research Institute (ETRI) anticipates that the mobile “tv in your palm” service will develop to become a U.S.$35 billion annual business globally, with a potential to create 88,000 jobs in Korea alone. Reflecting optimistically on the high appetite amongst Korean cell phone users for watching their favourite programmes and live broadcasts anytime, anywhere, the President of Texas Instrument Asia, Terry Cheng remarked:

“….the acceleration of mobile digital TV adoption is well underway in the technology-savvy Korean market….and TI [Texas Instrument] is proud to be a part of this growth combining its strengths with Samsung to deliver a new and better user experience to countless Korean made phone users.”

Cheng’s remarks are being echoed elsewhere where mobile tv transmission tests are currently being carried out. There seems to be a prevailing sense of euphoria surrounding the entry of a new conduit for amassing the delivery of digital but yet to be de-massified media content as had happened in Japan. UCLA’s Asiamedia reported that in Japan, the nation’s six major television networks -- NHK, TBS, NTV, TV Asahi, Fuji TV and TV Tokyo – have all entered into an agreement to beam high-quality TV images to mobile phone users. Economies of scale dictate that the mass markets in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya be the initial prime targets of this new service relayed to hand phones developed by Vodafone. This new service is expected to be launced in early 2006.

In Britain, NTL Broadcast and cellular phone company O2 are working together on a mobile tv iniative in and around the Oxford area while similar trials are being carried out in France, Finland, and in the United States with DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld) digital television beamed to high-end cellular phones. Besides Korea and Japan, Taiwan and Singapore have also joined in the fray to develop mobile tv systems and test transmis-sions that could well put large screens into cellphone users’ pockets and offering infotainment fare on-the-go.

While others are experimenting with mobile tv, we in Malaysia have just witnessed the much awaited launching of 3G (Third generation mobile telephony) applications and transmission systems. 3G service is currently being offered by two major cellular companies: Celcom and Maxis. Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Mohd. Najib Tun Abdul Razak described Celcom’s 3G launch as marking another milestone in the development of telecom-munication and “heralding a new era in mobility that has opened up a world of possibilities for the power of true connec-tion”, He hopes that the “subscription to 3G must not be so high that it would be only available to certain classes of people”. Meanwhile, Malaysian Minister for Energy, Water and Communications, Datuk Seri Dr. Lim Keng Yaik chided cell phone companies over poor reception quality while launching Maxis 3G – the first prepaid service in the country -- on July 1, 2005:

“Do not make empty promises and leave customers facing problems of poor quality and coverage later. I have encountered problems with my mobile services. Performance is incredibly important for both the network and handsets. There is no use having high-tech equipment and products when you cannot deliver the services.”

Use of 3G among Malaysians is at the early adoption stage as Maxis and Celcom strive to improve network capacity for seamless connections at least in the more urban areas in Peninsular Malaysia. Although its utilisation will be centred on speedy Internet connection, 3G is also seen as a forerunner to the implementation of mobile TV in the country.

Unsatisfactory audio and video signals and slow download time are seen as a major impediments to steady subscription growth apart from cost of data card and other start-ups. Another drawback is the limited coverage which is confined to metropolitan areas with powerful hot spots that have access to 3G coverage. These factors aside, users are also wary about getting more of the same thing – ie. content that are already available on satellite television. In other words, users are less keen to watch

2. The Present Mobile TV landscape

ISSUEFIVE9

or follow what is already available on ASTRO. Nothing beats the tv set when it comes to watching satellite delivered programmes. Cellphone users prefer to catch news and trends on-the-go and would go for highlights of global events and business news and round up of money market and stock exchange performances around the globe.

They would prefer the repackaging of news reports – those that are brought by program-mers like CNBC, BBC and CNN -- to their 3G enabled handphones. This is an important consideration for mobile tv if it is to succeed in future because, at present, what is being put on cellphones via 3G is still broadcasting in nature; it is still a transmission from ‘one to many’ and not ‘one to one’. That the nature of handphones being a truly personal item (and very mobile unlike the desktop) dictates that content should embrace the flavour of narrowcasting and cater to audiences’ specific needs, tastes and preferences.

This matter will be deliberated in section four of this paper. Before that, let’s first look at the highlights of the findings of a consumer (cellphone users) survey conducted amongst 990 respondents residing in the Klang Valley and feedback on the par (potential accep-tance rate) factor of mobile tv.

Blurry and flickering images and barely audible sound seem to be some of the major complaints levied by the early adopters of mobile tv. These shortcomings tend to impede mobile tv’s development and, hence, its wide acceptance.

Besides this, the small screen on the cell phone makes it cumbersome especially to the over fourty-fives (incidentally, these are the people with the highest purchasing power) who, considering their age, may not be able to focus onto the small scereen as effectively as when they were, say, twenty years younger. Also cell tv is no match to watching tv that is equipped with the home theatre system in the living room. Watching streaming videos live on the cellphone (or those that are downloaded) drains the batteries fast. And if you are out with your girlfriend at a nearby restaurant and she spends more than half the time watching tv on her cellphone, this raises the question of etiquette.

The prospect of mobile phone addicts watching tv while driving also raises the question of safety on the roads. All these factors seem to point to an early demise of mobile tv but then optimists are exulting over its potential as a personal entertainment medium saying that kids can watch cartoons while sitting on the back seat of their parent’s car and that people can catch short mobisodes (short form for mobile episodes) while waiting at airport lounges or while waiting in line at check out counters at departmental stores.

Nonetheless, it is heartening to note that cellular operators and the major cellphone manufactur-ers are sparing no effort to continually improve network capacity and capability besides coming out with state-of-the-art high resolution screens that offer cellphone users quick Internet access, video conferencing and video calls, and digital multimedia broadcasting.

All said, signs are that mobile tv is poised to turn out to be a favourite amongst cellphone users particularly when the price is right and when content -- especially those that are primarily crafted on the affinity and affiliation approach -- meets up to individual preferences and tastes.

Mobile tv is currently a technology in search of a market. It is constantly on the look out for and needs to be backed by full-proof business plans. Studio entertainment executives see it as the next venue for video entertainment, a conduit to sell advertising, and a platform to cross-promote media products like tv programmes, CDs, and movies at the cineplexes. It needs original content.

Therefore, relaying content already available on satellite tv to handphone users may turn out to be an ineffective way to increase the subscriber base and sponsorship revenues.

If mobile tv is to run on a profitable basis, then operators should go for segment sponsorship rather than commercials per se. Aside from monthly subscriptions by users, content should be elegantly produced and properly segmented to meet audience specific preferences and needs. Here, I propose to address the issue of segmentations and specific content programming by breaking up the mobile tv landscape into specific scenarios. Let’s begin with the entertainment scenario, followed by sports and recreation, community development, general and business news, stock and money market updates, adventure, tourism and travel as a special package and last, but not least, the political scenario.

All said, signs are that mobile tv is poised to turn out to be a favourite amongst cellphone users particularly when the price is right and when content - especially those that

are primarily crafted on the affinity and affiliation approach - meets up to individual preferences and tastes.

If mobile tv is to run on a profitable basis, then operators should go for segment sponsorship rather than commer-cials per se. Aside from monthly subscriptions by users, content should be elegantly produced and properly seg-

mented to meet audience specific preferences and needs.

3. The Problem with Mobile TV

4. Broadcasting or Narrowcasting?: Adopting the Affinity, Affiliation and Community Development Approach in Content Creation for Mobile TV

T V O n Y o u r M o b i l e : T h e N e x t B i g T h i n g ?

10CMIWS.UITM.EDU.MY

Offering full length movies and dramas on cell tv may not be such a good idea because this would certainly drain battery life. I would imagine that very few subscribers would want to watch a full length movie on a two-inch square mobile phone screen. The best option is to go for “entertainment on-the-go”. But offering short episodes of drama serials that last for about 120 seconds per episode is ideal for mobile tv. Apart from this, operators can throw in quizzes on the drama series and subscribers can try their luck at winning special prizes which can be promoted within the programme.

One of the most likely programming fare that will attract subscribers especially youngsters is music videos. But putting MTV on the cell tv fare may not be an effective option as compared to the re-packaging and relaying of music videos that feature subscribers’ favourite artists in performance. This option favours a subscriber choosing a maximum of ten (10) of his or her favourite artistes or the group of his or her choice and the cellular operator relays programmes and music videos of the selected artistes to the subscriber’s hand phones. Artistes can also send personalized messages to subscribers and vice-versa. In this way, the narrowcasting flavour is being met.

Quick newscasts of sporting events and results are preferred over the relaying of ESPN or StarSports channel over cellular networks. The networks re-pacakge the events and present only the highlights of the games played. Premised on the concept of affinity and affiliation, cellular networks should design content to suit the preferences of a specific group of sports and recreation enthusiasts. For example, let’s take fishing. There are about 32,000 fishing enthusiasts in the country; people who take fishing as a serious hobby. In designing mobile tv content for fishing enthusiasts, the cellular phone network specially package the programming fare for them. Items like news and discussions on the various hot spots for fishing, techniques for fishing in the high seas, resorts and holiday destinations that cater to fishing, fishing holiday packages, promotion of fishing gear, isotonic drinks, and storage facilities can also be featured in the programming fare specially produced for fishing enthusiasts who would then pay a monthly subscription.

Another example would be the upcoming World Cup Soccer Finals to be hosted in South Africa. Instead of relaying all matches to soccer fans, in this instance, subscribers choose 40 out of all matches that will get underway. The cellular company then presents highlights of the 40 events of the subscriber’s choice on his or her cellphone. The opening and closing ceremonies are also thrown in aside from the highlights of the 40 matches chosen. An example of the possible mobile Tv programming fare for sports and recreation is described in the table below:

Mobile TV promises to be a boon to corporate communications and employee relations. Properly and effectively utilised, it can also assist firms in enhancing customer relations and customer satisfaction through messages and visuals that can be relayed in the context of follow-up or what is commonly referred to as after sales service. Firms and government linked companies with employees of more than 25,000 stand to gain from the utilisation of mobile tv services where top management are privileged to relay images as well as important messages to employees. The President and CEO or the Managing Director of a telecom giant, or an oil and gas behemoth or an airline like Air Asia, can relay New Year as well as other motivational messages packaged with video clips of events that have significance to the company’s history and milestone achievements. Even foundations and non-governmental organizations stand to benefit from these types of corporate communication strategies which utilises mobile tv as a means of enhancing member-organisation affinity.

Content for Mobile TV: The Sports & Recreation Scene

Event The Subcribers Mode/ Output Segment Sponsor/ Advertiser

World Cup 2010(South Africa)

Fishing

Nestle, 100 Plus, Petronas, Nike, Nokia, Proton

Soccer

Golf

Sports Enthusiasts

Fishing Enthusiasts Health Tonic Drink Manufactures, Magazines,Apparels, Storage Product, Boat Engines, etc.

Soccer Enthusiasts Sports Equipment; Telcos; Car Manufacturers;Footwear and Apparels, etc

Golf Players, Fan Sports/ Golf Equipment, Holiday Destinations, Travel Agencies, Airlines, Credit Cards

Subscriber to choose 40 of the matches being played and the high- lights of those matches.Opening & Closing ceremonies thrown in

All about fishing; Competitions; Sites;Organised fishing trips and holidays, etc.

EPL Highlights; Best goal scored; Quick newscasts;Video clips of interviews; Sport result, etc.

Highlights of golf games played, tournaments, events, Golf resort, special packages

ISSUEFIVE11

4.1 The Entertainment Scenario

4.2 Sports and Recreation

4.3 Content for Mobile TV: Affinity, Affiliation & Community Development:

Even foundations and non-governmental organizations stand to benefit from these types of corporate communication strategies which utilises mobile tv as a

means of enhancing member-organisation affinity.

or follow what is already available on ASTRO. Nothing beats the tv set when it comes to watching satellite delivered programmes. Cellphone users prefer to catch news and trends on-the-go and would go for highlights of global events and business news and round up of money market and stock exchange performances around the globe.

They would prefer the repackaging of news reports – those that are brought by program-mers like CNBC, BBC and CNN -- to their 3G enabled handphones. This is an important consideration for mobile tv if it is to succeed in future because, at present, what is being put on cellphones via 3G is still broadcasting in nature; it is still a transmission from ‘one to many’ and not ‘one to one’. That the nature of handphones being a truly personal item (and very mobile unlike the desktop) dictates that content should embrace the flavour of narrowcasting and cater to audiences’ specific needs, tastes and preferences.

This matter will be deliberated in section four of this paper. Before that, let’s first look at the highlights of the findings of a consumer (cellphone users) survey conducted amongst 990 respondents residing in the Klang Valley and feedback on the par (potential accep-tance rate) factor of mobile tv.

Blurry and flickering images and barely audible sound seem to be some of the major complaints levied by the early adopters of mobile tv. These shortcomings tend to impede mobile tv’s development and, hence, its wide acceptance.

Besides this, the small screen on the cell phone makes it cumbersome especially to the over fourty-fives (incidentally, these are the people with the highest purchasing power) who, considering their age, may not be able to focus onto the small scereen as effectively as when they were, say, twenty years younger. Also cell tv is no match to watching tv that is equipped with the home theatre system in the living room. Watching streaming videos live on the cellphone (or those that are downloaded) drains the batteries fast. And if you are out with your girlfriend at a nearby restaurant and she spends more than half the time watching tv on her cellphone, this raises the question of etiquette.

The prospect of mobile phone addicts watching tv while driving also raises the question of safety on the roads. All these factors seem to point to an early demise of mobile tv but then optimists are exulting over its potential as a personal entertainment medium saying that kids can watch cartoons while sitting on the back seat of their parent’s car and that people can catch short mobisodes (short form for mobile episodes) while waiting at airport lounges or while waiting in line at check out counters at departmental stores.

Nonetheless, it is heartening to note that cellular operators and the major cellphone manufactur-ers are sparing no effort to continually improve network capacity and capability besides coming out with state-of-the-art high resolution screens that offer cellphone users quick Internet access, video conferencing and video calls, and digital multimedia broadcasting.

All said, signs are that mobile tv is poised to turn out to be a favourite amongst cellphone users particularly when the price is right and when content -- especially those that are primarily crafted on the affinity and affiliation approach -- meets up to individual preferences and tastes.

Mobile tv is currently a technology in search of a market. It is constantly on the look out for and needs to be backed by full-proof business plans. Studio entertainment executives see it as the next venue for video entertainment, a conduit to sell advertising, and a platform to cross-promote media products like tv programmes, CDs, and movies at the cineplexes. It needs original content.

Therefore, relaying content already available on satellite tv to handphone users may turn out to be an ineffective way to increase the subscriber base and sponsorship revenues.

If mobile tv is to run on a profitable basis, then operators should go for segment sponsorship rather than commercials per se. Aside from monthly subscriptions by users, content should be elegantly produced and properly segmented to meet audience specific preferences and needs. Here, I propose to address the issue of segmentations and specific content programming by breaking up the mobile tv landscape into specific scenarios. Let’s begin with the entertainment scenario, followed by sports and recreation, community development, general and business news, stock and money market updates, adventure, tourism and travel as a special package and last, but not least, the political scenario.

All said, signs are that mobile tv is poised to turn out to be a favourite amongst cellphone users particularly when the price is right and when content - especially those that

are primarily crafted on the affinity and affiliation approach - meets up to individual preferences and tastes.

If mobile tv is to run on a profitable basis, then operators should go for segment sponsorship rather than commer-cials per se. Aside from monthly subscriptions by users, content should be elegantly produced and properly seg-

mented to meet audience specific preferences and needs.

3. The Problem with Mobile TV

4. Broadcasting or Narrowcasting?: Adopting the Affinity, Affiliation and Community Development Approach in Content Creation for Mobile TV

T V O n Y o u r M o b i l e : T h e N e x t B i g T h i n g ?

10CMIWS.UITM.EDU.MY

Offering full length movies and dramas on cell tv may not be such a good idea because this would certainly drain battery life. I would imagine that very few subscribers would want to watch a full length movie on a two-inch square mobile phone screen. The best option is to go for “entertainment on-the-go”. But offering short episodes of drama serials that last for about 120 seconds per episode is ideal for mobile tv. Apart from this, operators can throw in quizzes on the drama series and subscribers can try their luck at winning special prizes which can be promoted within the programme.

One of the most likely programming fare that will attract subscribers especially youngsters is music videos. But putting MTV on the cell tv fare may not be an effective option as compared to the re-packaging and relaying of music videos that feature subscribers’ favourite artists in performance. This option favours a subscriber choosing a maximum of ten (10) of his or her favourite artistes or the group of his or her choice and the cellular operator relays programmes and music videos of the selected artistes to the subscriber’s hand phones. Artistes can also send personalized messages to subscribers and vice-versa. In this way, the narrowcasting flavour is being met.

Quick newscasts of sporting events and results are preferred over the relaying of ESPN or StarSports channel over cellular networks. The networks re-pacakge the events and present only the highlights of the games played. Premised on the concept of affinity and affiliation, cellular networks should design content to suit the preferences of a specific group of sports and recreation enthusiasts. For example, let’s take fishing. There are about 32,000 fishing enthusiasts in the country; people who take fishing as a serious hobby. In designing mobile tv content for fishing enthusiasts, the cellular phone network specially package the programming fare for them. Items like news and discussions on the various hot spots for fishing, techniques for fishing in the high seas, resorts and holiday destinations that cater to fishing, fishing holiday packages, promotion of fishing gear, isotonic drinks, and storage facilities can also be featured in the programming fare specially produced for fishing enthusiasts who would then pay a monthly subscription.

Another example would be the upcoming World Cup Soccer Finals to be hosted in South Africa. Instead of relaying all matches to soccer fans, in this instance, subscribers choose 40 out of all matches that will get underway. The cellular company then presents highlights of the 40 events of the subscriber’s choice on his or her cellphone. The opening and closing ceremonies are also thrown in aside from the highlights of the 40 matches chosen. An example of the possible mobile Tv programming fare for sports and recreation is described in the table below:

Mobile TV promises to be a boon to corporate communications and employee relations. Properly and effectively utilised, it can also assist firms in enhancing customer relations and customer satisfaction through messages and visuals that can be relayed in the context of follow-up or what is commonly referred to as after sales service. Firms and government linked companies with employees of more than 25,000 stand to gain from the utilisation of mobile tv services where top management are privileged to relay images as well as important messages to employees. The President and CEO or the Managing Director of a telecom giant, or an oil and gas behemoth or an airline like Air Asia, can relay New Year as well as other motivational messages packaged with video clips of events that have significance to the company’s history and milestone achievements. Even foundations and non-governmental organizations stand to benefit from these types of corporate communication strategies which utilises mobile tv as a means of enhancing member-organisation affinity.

Content for Mobile TV: The Sports & Recreation Scene

Event The Subcribers Mode/ Output Segment Sponsor/ Advertiser

World Cup 2010(South Africa)

Fishing

Nestle, 100 Plus, Petronas, Nike, Nokia, Proton

Soccer

Golf

Sports Enthusiasts

Fishing Enthusiasts Health Tonic Drink Manufactures, Magazines,Apparels, Storage Product, Boat Engines, etc.

Soccer Enthusiasts Sports Equipment; Telcos; Car Manufacturers;Footwear and Apparels, etc

Golf Players, Fan Sports/ Golf Equipment, Holiday Destinations, Travel Agencies, Airlines, Credit Cards

Subscriber to choose 40 of the matches being played and the high- lights of those matches.Opening & Closing ceremonies thrown in

All about fishing; Competitions; Sites;Organised fishing trips and holidays, etc.

EPL Highlights; Best goal scored; Quick newscasts;Video clips of interviews; Sport result, etc.

Highlights of golf games played, tournaments, events, Golf resort, special packages

ISSUEFIVE11

4.1 The Entertainment Scenario

4.2 Sports and Recreation

4.3 Content for Mobile TV: Affinity, Affiliation & Community Development:

Even foundations and non-governmental organizations stand to benefit from these types of corporate communication strategies which utilises mobile tv as a

means of enhancing member-organisation affinity.

Types of content and messages that are in tandem with the concept of affinity and affiliation are shown in the following table:

The cellular company selected or assigned to run mobile tv services ought to re-package its subscribers with quick newscasts about the performances of the various major bourses in the world, money markets, commodity prices, trade and other news that are important and relevant to the business community. Sponsors for the various segments can include banks, petroleum companies, manufacturers, service providers, and companies in the ICT business. Amongst the early subscribers to these kind of messages and visuals will be members from the trade, business and financial sectors and civil servants serving in the trade, banking and related financial sectors.

This channel on the mobile Tv programming fare is aimed at keeping subscribers informed of the various tour packages available, holiday destinations, special events, cultural activities, fine cuisines, and adventure type trips. Programming content are described in the table below:

By working closely with a political party, the cellular company can provide various types of information and updates to party members. Special messages from party leaders can also be relayed to members. Excerpts of speeches made by leaders during campaigns in the run up to state and parliamentary elections can also be relayed to subscribers. They or their political party can be charged a specific fee.

In my view, mobile tv is poised to alter the media landscape in Malaysia and elsewhere in the developed and developing world. It will become an important and relevant conduit for the dissemination of entertainment and psywar/psyop information to subscribers. It certainly has the potential to be developed into a business entity besides being a facility that could foster community development and enhance community interest and well being. At this stage, the technology is still searching for a market and needs a sound business plan so as to ensure maximum returns on investment. Some of the potential sponsors and advertisers for mobile tv have been mentioned in this paper.

4.5 Adventure, Tourism and Travel: Content for Mobile TV

4.4 Financial / Business News and Highlights of Stock and Share Market Performances

4.6 The Political Scene

5.0 Conclusion & Recommendations

Agency/ NGO & Programme Type

The Subcribers Mode/ Output Segment Sponsor/ Advertiser

Tourism Ministry;Association of Tour

Agencies

Tour & Travel agencies, Banks,Finance Companies, ShoppingComplexes, Resorts, Airlines,Car Rental Companies, etc

General population who are interested

in travelling

All types of tourism related programmes and segments and quick newcasts about holiday destinations; calendar of events; happenings; special tour packages., etc.

12CMIWS.UITM.EDU.MY

Agency/ NGO & Programme Type

The Subcribers Mode/ Output Segment Sponsor/ Advertiser

DBKL, Kuala Lumpur/City Living, BuildingBetter Communities

National Heart Institute;National Heart

Association Medic TV

Oil companies, Telcos, Car Manufactures, BanksFinance Companies Shopping complexes, etc.

University (UiTM)

Petronas (or anyother oil company)

City Dwellers (KL)

Pharmaceutical companies manufacturers, Health Drinks, Apparels, etc.

Banks; Telcos; Car Manufacturers; Footwearand apparels, Computer companies, etc.

Petronas products and services

All types of programmes and segments and quick newcasts about the city; calendar of events; happenings

Latest procedures; Treatment; Latest medication hospitals; Healthy living, Stress reduction, etc

Campus Highlights; VC’s message; Seminars; Video clips of convocation; Academic calendar, research, etc.

Highlights of messages from management, events, the petroleum industry in gener; news from varios sections in Petronas

Petronas senior management personnel, officers, employees, petrol kiosk dealers, platform workers

Lecturers; Staff and Students; Parents; Alumni

Heart Patients and those interested in Cardiovasculardiseases

In my view, mobile tv is poised to alter the media landscape in Malaysia and elsewhere in the developed and developing world. It will become an important and relevant conduit for the dissemination of entertainment and psywar/psyop information to subscribers. It certainly has the potential to be developed into a

business entity besides being a facility that could foster community development and enhance community interest and well being.

T V O n Y o u r M o b i l e : T h e N e x t B i g T h i n g ?

Besides the creation of new jobs and the potential to bring together the best skills in the mobile industry and those in the broadcasting industry, mobile tv also has the potential to become [to borrow Alexander Bell’s words] “a business of the most remunerative kind”.

To nurture the steady growth of mobile tv, a special interest group (SIG) like a Mobile TV Task Force or a select committee that is focused on the Implementation of DVB-H or DMB must be formed and spearheaded by the Malaysian Communication and Multime-dia Commission. Its members should include representatives from the cellular companies, the broadcasting industry, the creative and intellectual communities, and the potential sponsors. Members from specific foundations and non-governmental organizations can also be invited to sit in the special DVB-H task force.

Meanwhile, ownership of spectrum relay systems must be kept to a minimum in order to ensure maximisation of the economies of scale and to preclude over crowdedness and excessive market fragmentation. Ideally one; the most two. In my view, it is best that the spectrum be given to single cellular company that has the experience in content design and production. In this case, it ought to be MAXIS, a cellular company which is affiliated to ASTRO, the latter having excellent production facilities at its Sungei Besi All Asia Broadcasting Complex. With a robust frame-work and policy guidelines, I envisaged mobile tv becoming an exciting provider of infotainment on-the-go encompassing the flavour of narrowcasting….and the key is to make the most of it for the benefit and well-being of the community especially in the context of promoting 1Malaysia for the good of our future generation.

ISSUEFIVE13

With a robust framework and policy guidelines, I envisaged mobile tv becoming an exciting provider of infotainment on-the-go encompassing the flavour of nar-

rowcasting…. and the key is to make the most of it for the benefit and well-being of the community especially in the context of promoting 1Malaysia for the good of

our future generation.

ASSOC. PROF. DR. SITI ZALEHA ZAINAL ABIDIN visit http://sitizaleha.uitm.edu.my/szzaBlog/

Current position (April 1st 2009 - May 31st 2011): Fellow, Centre for Media and Information Warfare Studies, Faculty of Communication & Media StudiesPermanent position: Lecturer (Assoc. Prof), Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences

EDUCATION BACKGROUNDPhD in Computer Science, University of Wales Swansea, United KingdomMSc in Computer Science, Western Illinois University, Macomb, United States of AmericaBSc in Computer Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, United States of AmericaDiploma in Translation, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (English to Bahasa Malaysia)

B.A HAMZAHVISITING PROFESSOR & SENIOR FELLOW CMIWS

FELLOW CMIWS

BACKGROUNDB. A. Hamzah is a Professor of International Politics at the Centre for Media and Information Warfare Studies, UiTM. He has PhD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Medford, Boston in USA in 1980 and he was Director General, Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA), 1993-2000, Director General of ISIS, Malaysia, 1993-1990, Director of Centre for Global Studies, 2005-2008, Special Fellow United Nation Institute for Training& Research ( Hiroshima Office) and Visiting Scholar, Lauterpacth Centre for International Law, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. B.A. Hamzah is currently holding a Senior Fellow post at the Centre for Media and Information Warfare Studies, UiTM.

CMIWS NEW STAFF

Types of content and messages that are in tandem with the concept of affinity and affiliation are shown in the following table:

The cellular company selected or assigned to run mobile tv services ought to re-package its subscribers with quick newscasts about the performances of the various major bourses in the world, money markets, commodity prices, trade and other news that are important and relevant to the business community. Sponsors for the various segments can include banks, petroleum companies, manufacturers, service providers, and companies in the ICT business. Amongst the early subscribers to these kind of messages and visuals will be members from the trade, business and financial sectors and civil servants serving in the trade, banking and related financial sectors.

This channel on the mobile Tv programming fare is aimed at keeping subscribers informed of the various tour packages available, holiday destinations, special events, cultural activities, fine cuisines, and adventure type trips. Programming content are described in the table below:

By working closely with a political party, the cellular company can provide various types of information and updates to party members. Special messages from party leaders can also be relayed to members. Excerpts of speeches made by leaders during campaigns in the run up to state and parliamentary elections can also be relayed to subscribers. They or their political party can be charged a specific fee.

In my view, mobile tv is poised to alter the media landscape in Malaysia and elsewhere in the developed and developing world. It will become an important and relevant conduit for the dissemination of entertainment and psywar/psyop information to subscribers. It certainly has the potential to be developed into a business entity besides being a facility that could foster community development and enhance community interest and well being. At this stage, the technology is still searching for a market and needs a sound business plan so as to ensure maximum returns on investment. Some of the potential sponsors and advertisers for mobile tv have been mentioned in this paper.

4.5 Adventure, Tourism and Travel: Content for Mobile TV

4.4 Financial / Business News and Highlights of Stock and Share Market Performances

4.6 The Political Scene

5.0 Conclusion & Recommendations

Agency/ NGO & Programme Type

The Subcribers Mode/ Output Segment Sponsor/ Advertiser

Tourism Ministry;Association of Tour

Agencies

Tour & Travel agencies, Banks,Finance Companies, ShoppingComplexes, Resorts, Airlines,Car Rental Companies, etc

General population who are interested

in travelling

All types of tourism related programmes and segments and quick newcasts about holiday destinations; calendar of events; happenings; special tour packages., etc.

12CMIWS.UITM.EDU.MY

Agency/ NGO & Programme Type

The Subcribers Mode/ Output Segment Sponsor/ Advertiser

DBKL, Kuala Lumpur/City Living, BuildingBetter Communities

National Heart Institute;National Heart

Association Medic TV

Oil companies, Telcos, Car Manufactures, BanksFinance Companies Shopping complexes, etc.

University (UiTM)

Petronas (or anyother oil company)

City Dwellers (KL)

Pharmaceutical companies manufacturers, Health Drinks, Apparels, etc.

Banks; Telcos; Car Manufacturers; Footwearand apparels, Computer companies, etc.

Petronas products and services

All types of programmes and segments and quick newcasts about the city; calendar of events; happenings

Latest procedures; Treatment; Latest medication hospitals; Healthy living, Stress reduction, etc

Campus Highlights; VC’s message; Seminars; Video clips of convocation; Academic calendar, research, etc.

Highlights of messages from management, events, the petroleum industry in gener; news from varios sections in Petronas

Petronas senior management personnel, officers, employees, petrol kiosk dealers, platform workers

Lecturers; Staff and Students; Parents; Alumni

Heart Patients and those interested in Cardiovasculardiseases

In my view, mobile tv is poised to alter the media landscape in Malaysia and elsewhere in the developed and developing world. It will become an important and relevant conduit for the dissemination of entertainment and psywar/psyop information to subscribers. It certainly has the potential to be developed into a

business entity besides being a facility that could foster community development and enhance community interest and well being.

T V O n Y o u r M o b i l e : T h e N e x t B i g T h i n g ?

Besides the creation of new jobs and the potential to bring together the best skills in the mobile industry and those in the broadcasting industry, mobile tv also has the potential to become [to borrow Alexander Bell’s words] “a business of the most remunerative kind”.

To nurture the steady growth of mobile tv, a special interest group (SIG) like a Mobile TV Task Force or a select committee that is focused on the Implementation of DVB-H or DMB must be formed and spearheaded by the Malaysian Communication and Multime-dia Commission. Its members should include representatives from the cellular companies, the broadcasting industry, the creative and intellectual communities, and the potential sponsors. Members from specific foundations and non-governmental organizations can also be invited to sit in the special DVB-H task force.

Meanwhile, ownership of spectrum relay systems must be kept to a minimum in order to ensure maximisation of the economies of scale and to preclude over crowdedness and excessive market fragmentation. Ideally one; the most two. In my view, it is best that the spectrum be given to single cellular company that has the experience in content design and production. In this case, it ought to be MAXIS, a cellular company which is affiliated to ASTRO, the latter having excellent production facilities at its Sungei Besi All Asia Broadcasting Complex. With a robust frame-work and policy guidelines, I envisaged mobile tv becoming an exciting provider of infotainment on-the-go encompassing the flavour of narrowcasting….and the key is to make the most of it for the benefit and well-being of the community especially in the context of promoting 1Malaysia for the good of our future generation.

ISSUEFIVE13

With a robust framework and policy guidelines, I envisaged mobile tv becoming an exciting provider of infotainment on-the-go encompassing the flavour of nar-

rowcasting…. and the key is to make the most of it for the benefit and well-being of the community especially in the context of promoting 1Malaysia for the good of

our future generation.

ASSOC. PROF. DR. SITI ZALEHA ZAINAL ABIDIN visit http://sitizaleha.uitm.edu.my/szzaBlog/

Current position (April 1st 2009 - May 31st 2011): Fellow, Centre for Media and Information Warfare Studies, Faculty of Communication & Media StudiesPermanent position: Lecturer (Assoc. Prof), Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences

EDUCATION BACKGROUNDPhD in Computer Science, University of Wales Swansea, United KingdomMSc in Computer Science, Western Illinois University, Macomb, United States of AmericaBSc in Computer Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, United States of AmericaDiploma in Translation, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (English to Bahasa Malaysia)

B.A HAMZAHVISITING PROFESSOR & SENIOR FELLOW CMIWS

FELLOW CMIWS

BACKGROUNDB. A. Hamzah is a Professor of International Politics at the Centre for Media and Information Warfare Studies, UiTM. He has PhD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Medford, Boston in USA in 1980 and he was Director General, Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA), 1993-2000, Director General of ISIS, Malaysia, 1993-1990, Director of Centre for Global Studies, 2005-2008, Special Fellow United Nation Institute for Training& Research ( Hiroshima Office) and Visiting Scholar, Lauterpacth Centre for International Law, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. B.A. Hamzah is currently holding a Senior Fellow post at the Centre for Media and Information Warfare Studies, UiTM.

CMIWS NEW STAFF

King was extremely critical of American schools during his time. He criticized an education policy that served to equip elites with the instruments of exploitation “so that they can trample over the masses”.

Embedded in his thoughts was the use of education at public expense to exploit the working class, mainly blacks, to promote a political agenda.

In hindsight, this agenda could continue forever if the curriculum was not revised to address the larger attributes of education such as teaching a person “to think intensively and critically” and to remove racial prejudices.

King argued in The Purpose of Education (1948) that the educated class in America then was so racist; it neglected the real purpose of education. To King, education must serve two functions utility and culture “in the life of man and in society”.

In essence, he says “education must enable a man to become more efficient” in the conduct of his daily life and should contribute to his cultural well-being. According to him, an education system which fails to make a person think incisively and critically will undermine nation-building efforts.

There is an inherent danger that our educa-tion policy will lead us to the situation most dreaded by King in 1948, if school curricula should continue to furnish the interests of elites “with noble ends rather than means to an end”.

An educated person, according to King, is one who can think logically and scientifically. King cites a white man who, in his view by the standard of his time, was a very educated person as he “could think critically and intensively” but was extremely racist. In his view, a person with such prejudices cannot be called educated.

On the occasion of the prime minister’s recent unveiling of the National Education Blueprint (2006 – 2010), we need to ponder whether our current education policy has the capacity to end racial segregation in schools. The hypothesis is: when schools fail to promote values for national unity, nation building in a multicultural diversity is a tremendous risk.

The evidence of racial segregation in schools is overwhelming.

Of 3.1 million students in primary schools, 76.3% are in sekolah kebangsaan (national schools), 20.6% in Chinese schools and 3.1% in Tamil schools.

Of the students in national schools, 93% are bumiputra and the rest non-bumiputra. Some 93% of non-bumiputra (primarily Chinese) students attend the Chinese schools. The racial balance in Tamil schools is most skewed: non-bumiputra (primarily Indians) consti-tute 99.7%.

Recently, a colleague sent me a short article (written in 1948) by the late Rev Martin Luther King Jr on education. Racial segregation in American schools, according to King, had deleterious consequences on national unity. King’s observations have a bearing on our education system.

King warns that “if we are not careful, our colleges will produce a group of close-minded, unscien-tific, illogical propagandists, consumed with immoral acts”. Of course, King was concerned with racial politics in the US education system to perpetuate dominance of white rule and an education policy that paid only lip service to multiculturalism.

Today, Americans pay tribute to King for ending racial segregation in schools that effectively put an end to apartheid in America, King’s role in reforming US education deserves our recognition.

EDUCATION PLAN MUST END RACEDIVIDE IN SCHOOLS

By B.A Hamzah Visiting Professor & Senior Fellow CMIWS

14CMIWS.UITM.EDU.MY

King, who was famous for his I have a dream slogan, had used education to rally Americans towards a national reconciliation agenda based on equity and social justice.

By focusing on education “that enables one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from fiction,” King succeeded in bringing about the emanci-pation of his suppressed community by personal sacrifices and effective and resolute leadership.

His personal crusade against bigotry in the US education system earned him a permanent place in the history of America but it cost him his life. Jan 15 is Remembrance Day for Martin Luther King Jr and a public holiday in the US.

King reminds the intelligentsia that “intelli-gence is not enough”. He maintains that the goal of true education is to produce persons with intelligence and character.

It is character that differentiates good leaders from bad ones. According to King, “the most gifted criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morality.”

As we rush to build new schools and rename colleges as universities, we need to pay more attention to “character building” and national unity in schools.

King laments further. “I often wonder whether or not education is fulfilling its purpose. A great majority of the so-called educated people do not think logically and scientifically. Even the press, the classroom, the platform and the pulpit in many instances do not give us objective and unbiased truths. To save man from the morass of propaganda, in my opinion, is one of the chief aims of education.”

The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that we are not going to stay where we are. Hopefully, the publication of the latest National Education Blueprint will restore scholarship to schools and further enhance stakeholders” confidence in the ability of our education system, among others, to promote national unity.

The surest way to destroy the nation is to play politics with its education system.

The writer is a student of politics, international law and education. Comments: feedback@thesundailyt.com

ISSUEFIVE15

King was extremely critical of American schools during his time. He criticized an education policy that served to equip elites with the instruments of exploitation “so that they can trample over the masses”.

Embedded in his thoughts was the use of education at public expense to exploit the working class, mainly blacks, to promote a political agenda.

In hindsight, this agenda could continue forever if the curriculum was not revised to address the larger attributes of education such as teaching a person “to think intensively and critically” and to remove racial prejudices.

King argued in The Purpose of Education (1948) that the educated class in America then was so racist; it neglected the real purpose of education. To King, education must serve two functions utility and culture “in the life of man and in society”.

In essence, he says “education must enable a man to become more efficient” in the conduct of his daily life and should contribute to his cultural well-being. According to him, an education system which fails to make a person think incisively and critically will undermine nation-building efforts.

There is an inherent danger that our educa-tion policy will lead us to the situation most dreaded by King in 1948, if school curricula should continue to furnish the interests of elites “with noble ends rather than means to an end”.

An educated person, according to King, is one who can think logically and scientifically. King cites a white man who, in his view by the standard of his time, was a very educated person as he “could think critically and intensively” but was extremely racist. In his view, a person with such prejudices cannot be called educated.

On the occasion of the prime minister’s recent unveiling of the National Education Blueprint (2006 – 2010), we need to ponder whether our current education policy has the capacity to end racial segregation in schools. The hypothesis is: when schools fail to promote values for national unity, nation building in a multicultural diversity is a tremendous risk.

The evidence of racial segregation in schools is overwhelming.

Of 3.1 million students in primary schools, 76.3% are in sekolah kebangsaan (national schools), 20.6% in Chinese schools and 3.1% in Tamil schools.

Of the students in national schools, 93% are bumiputra and the rest non-bumiputra. Some 93% of non-bumiputra (primarily Chinese) students attend the Chinese schools. The racial balance in Tamil schools is most skewed: non-bumiputra (primarily Indians) consti-tute 99.7%.

Recently, a colleague sent me a short article (written in 1948) by the late Rev Martin Luther King Jr on education. Racial segregation in American schools, according to King, had deleterious consequences on national unity. King’s observations have a bearing on our education system.

King warns that “if we are not careful, our colleges will produce a group of close-minded, unscien-tific, illogical propagandists, consumed with immoral acts”. Of course, King was concerned with racial politics in the US education system to perpetuate dominance of white rule and an education policy that paid only lip service to multiculturalism.

Today, Americans pay tribute to King for ending racial segregation in schools that effectively put an end to apartheid in America, King’s role in reforming US education deserves our recognition.

EDUCATION PLAN MUST END RACEDIVIDE IN SCHOOLS

By B.A Hamzah Visiting Professor & Senior Fellow CMIWS

14CMIWS.UITM.EDU.MY

King, who was famous for his I have a dream slogan, had used education to rally Americans towards a national reconciliation agenda based on equity and social justice.

By focusing on education “that enables one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from fiction,” King succeeded in bringing about the emanci-pation of his suppressed community by personal sacrifices and effective and resolute leadership.

His personal crusade against bigotry in the US education system earned him a permanent place in the history of America but it cost him his life. Jan 15 is Remembrance Day for Martin Luther King Jr and a public holiday in the US.

King reminds the intelligentsia that “intelli-gence is not enough”. He maintains that the goal of true education is to produce persons with intelligence and character.

It is character that differentiates good leaders from bad ones. According to King, “the most gifted criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morality.”

As we rush to build new schools and rename colleges as universities, we need to pay more attention to “character building” and national unity in schools.

King laments further. “I often wonder whether or not education is fulfilling its purpose. A great majority of the so-called educated people do not think logically and scientifically. Even the press, the classroom, the platform and the pulpit in many instances do not give us objective and unbiased truths. To save man from the morass of propaganda, in my opinion, is one of the chief aims of education.”

The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that we are not going to stay where we are. Hopefully, the publication of the latest National Education Blueprint will restore scholarship to schools and further enhance stakeholders” confidence in the ability of our education system, among others, to promote national unity.

The surest way to destroy the nation is to play politics with its education system.

The writer is a student of politics, international law and education. Comments: feedback@thesundailyt.com

ISSUEFIVE15

COUNTRARY to some perceptions, university ranking is not always about good or bad universities. It is also about branding, selling and marketing a product.

The degree, the much-sought-after-product, from a highly-rated university is seen as a lifetime asset that opens doors to a successful career.

In a world that values meritocracy above all else, the paper chase and the costly investment are worth the effort when the degree comes from Harvard, MIT, Yale, Oxford, Cambridge or any other top 20 in the university ranking by an established rating agency.

This dies not mean graduates from other universities are less educated and do not make the grade in the real world.

Nonetheless, for many, creating the right first impression is so important; given everything being equal, there is certainly a prefer-ence to hire graduates from the Ivy League and top 20 rather than those from lesser known universities or those from universities ranked among the bottom 50, for instance.

Higher education is big global business – estimated at US$30bil (RM108bil) and still growing, around 5% annually.

It is the fastest source of export income in the United Kingdom. Unesco estimates some 2.5 million students study overseas annually and by 2025 some 7.5 million students will leave home to study in a foreign land.

Almost every world-class university is wooing foreign students to its campus.

New Zealand, for example which makes NZ$1.2bil (RM4.32bil) from foreign students, plans to offer places to 25,000 in 2007 (21,000 in 2004 and 4,000 in 1999). Singapore has a plan to attract 150,000 foreign students by 2012 (50,000 in 2004).

Japan is also opening its door to foreign students; in 1997 it had 50,000. The Waseda University in Tokyo has begun to offer some courses in English.

Many well known Japanese universities from Hokkaido to Kumamoto have elaborate plans to recruit foreigners for their faculties as well as students, not only for business reasons but also because their presence contributes to the order of merit.

Not to be left out, Holland has restructured its tertiary education. More than 50% of the Masters programmes there is now taught in English.

With such a large market to benefit from, university ranking becomes a competitive business. Everybody is jumping on the band-wagon.

Many may disagree with the criteria used by rating agencies. Criteria like publica-tions in journals like Science and Nature, for example, tend to favour engineering and science based institutions and those who publish in English.

But, like beauty pageants, the criteria for judging beauties are well institutionalized and have a certain following. Like it or not, university ranking will stay so long as there is demand for it and money to be made from such publications.

Not all managers of global education see value in the rankings, of course. Some Vice Chancellors have criticized ranking agen-cies as being biased towards those that use English for research and instruction.

The editors of journals and maga-zines that establish the rankings have been accused of favouring their own alma mater and those with good reputation.

There are those who strongly believe that no one can measure accurately the educational excellence (or lack of it) and the criteria used are very subjective. Hence, it is argued, the ranking system is flawed.

Many have questioned the need to rank universities annually as if the quality of education changes so fast.

Stanford president Gerhard Casper complained in 1999 that the US News and World Report had done a “substantial disser-vice to prospective students and failed to meet basic standards of good social science and journalism”. In that year Stanford did not coop-erate with the US News and World Report.

Some complain of the relevance of students-to-staff criterion in assessing educa-tional excellence because it says nothing about teaching quality.

Many complain that the ranking meth-odology is not very technical. For example, the Shanghai Jiao Tong University that ranked Harvard after Tokyo, Kyoto and Stanford (2005) does not rank Humanities and Social Sciences.

16CMIWS.UITM.EDU.MY

A BIG BUSINESSVARSITY RANKING

By B.A HamzahVisiting Professor & Senior Fellow CMIWS

But the proponents of university ranking swear by their objectivity and accuse critics of being petty.

Interestingly, using multiple regressions Prof Henry M. Levin of Columbia University’s Teachers College, New York, analysed the data on university rankings published by the Times Higher Education Supplement (2005), US News and World Report (2005) and national rankings of PhD programmes by the National Research Council (1995).

The results showed large disparities among the three rating agencies although the indicators are interna-tionally comparable.

However, the weaknesses in the methodologies should not be used as excuses that rating agencies like Newsweek, Asia Week (discontinued in 2000), Business Week, Washington Monthly and the Times Good University Guide, to cite a few, are useless.

The ratings are quite neutral and, on the whole, provide a comparable basis of academic excellence, as their surveys are quite extensive.

For examples, the Times Higher World University Rankings in 2004 and 2005 for 200 Universities were based on a survey of 2,375 academics from across the world.

Apart from public relations exercise, branding, marketing and competition for a piece of the global business in tertiary education, the ranking does compare the state of education by measuring the competence of the faculty through publications and their research contri-butions.

An insertion in the Science Citation Index or Social Science Citation Index, for example, will score points for the faculty and university.

Universities with better facilities for research tend to attract reputable academic and are popular with funding institutions.

Because they tend to be better endowed, like Harvard (with endowment of RM91.44bil), their pulling capacity is substantially higher than those in the Third World.

It is no secret that the former tend to score better in any ranking system that awards points to funding support and endowment.

The Shanghai Jiao Tong University associates academic quality with the number of Nobel Laureates on the faculty. The Times Higher Education Supplement emphasizes peer review – comprising 40% of the total score.

Newsweek in its latest University Ranking Report (August 2006) combines the criteria of both Shanghai and THES for its order of merit, besides library holdings and its currency.

Rankings provide prospective students with choices. Universities use rankings to showcase their credibility in research and teaching. Having a Nobel Laureate to supervise your thesis will give your resume plenty of mileage. The big names are often on the faculties of better-ranked universities.

It is difficult for educationists and policy makers to swallow reports from ranking agencies, especially when your own institution scores badly in the order of merit. Some become very defensive. Others have faulted rating agencies for their low scores.

The more sober approach is to accept the score and move on.

Any remedial action like improving the quality of university websites is cosmetic in nature. While tinkering with the process is important, it is the entire educational structure that needs to improve.

This requires first-rate faculty, commitment to teaching and research, students who are motivated, good libraries and laboratories among others.

While a first-rate faculty is a prerequisite for academic excellence, it operates best in an environ-ment that values academic freedom to pursue knowl-edge without undue or unreasonable interference.

Freedom to conduct research, promote academic discussion and publish materials without restraint, favour and fear is critical to any university that aspires to be among the world’s best.

Universities should concentrate on the bigger picture. They must ensure a proper climate for research and dissemination of knowledge; and imbue students with quality education and transferable skills useful to society at large.

ISSUEFIVE17

COUNTRARY to some perceptions, university ranking is not always about good or bad universities. It is also about branding, selling and marketing a product.

The degree, the much-sought-after-product, from a highly-rated university is seen as a lifetime asset that opens doors to a successful career.

In a world that values meritocracy above all else, the paper chase and the costly investment are worth the effort when the degree comes from Harvard, MIT, Yale, Oxford, Cambridge or any other top 20 in the university ranking by an established rating agency.

This dies not mean graduates from other universities are less educated and do not make the grade in the real world.

Nonetheless, for many, creating the right first impression is so important; given everything being equal, there is certainly a prefer-ence to hire graduates from the Ivy League and top 20 rather than those from lesser known universities or those from universities ranked among the bottom 50, for instance.

Higher education is big global business – estimated at US$30bil (RM108bil) and still growing, around 5% annually.

It is the fastest source of export income in the United Kingdom. Unesco estimates some 2.5 million students study overseas annually and by 2025 some 7.5 million students will leave home to study in a foreign land.

Almost every world-class university is wooing foreign students to its campus.

New Zealand, for example which makes NZ$1.2bil (RM4.32bil) from foreign students, plans to offer places to 25,000 in 2007 (21,000 in 2004 and 4,000 in 1999). Singapore has a plan to attract 150,000 foreign students by 2012 (50,000 in 2004).

Japan is also opening its door to foreign students; in 1997 it had 50,000. The Waseda University in Tokyo has begun to offer some courses in English.

Many well known Japanese universities from Hokkaido to Kumamoto have elaborate plans to recruit foreigners for their faculties as well as students, not only for business reasons but also because their presence contributes to the order of merit.

Not to be left out, Holland has restructured its tertiary education. More than 50% of the Masters programmes there is now taught in English.

With such a large market to benefit from, university ranking becomes a competitive business. Everybody is jumping on the band-wagon.

Many may disagree with the criteria used by rating agencies. Criteria like publica-tions in journals like Science and Nature, for example, tend to favour engineering and science based institutions and those who publish in English.

But, like beauty pageants, the criteria for judging beauties are well institutionalized and have a certain following. Like it or not, university ranking will stay so long as there is demand for it and money to be made from such publications.

Not all managers of global education see value in the rankings, of course. Some Vice Chancellors have criticized ranking agen-cies as being biased towards those that use English for research and instruction.

The editors of journals and maga-zines that establish the rankings have been accused of favouring their own alma mater and those with good reputation.

There are those who strongly believe that no one can measure accurately the educational excellence (or lack of it) and the criteria used are very subjective. Hence, it is argued, the ranking system is flawed.

Many have questioned the need to rank universities annually as if the quality of education changes so fast.

Stanford president Gerhard Casper complained in 1999 that the US News and World Report had done a “substantial disser-vice to prospective students and failed to meet basic standards of good social science and journalism”. In that year Stanford did not coop-erate with the US News and World Report.

Some complain of the relevance of students-to-staff criterion in assessing educa-tional excellence because it says nothing about teaching quality.

Many complain that the ranking meth-odology is not very technical. For example, the Shanghai Jiao Tong University that ranked Harvard after Tokyo, Kyoto and Stanford (2005) does not rank Humanities and Social Sciences.

16CMIWS.UITM.EDU.MY

A BIG BUSINESSVARSITY RANKING

By B.A HamzahVisiting Professor & Senior Fellow CMIWS

But the proponents of university ranking swear by their objectivity and accuse critics of being petty.

Interestingly, using multiple regressions Prof Henry M. Levin of Columbia University’s Teachers College, New York, analysed the data on university rankings published by the Times Higher Education Supplement (2005), US News and World Report (2005) and national rankings of PhD programmes by the National Research Council (1995).

The results showed large disparities among the three rating agencies although the indicators are interna-tionally comparable.

However, the weaknesses in the methodologies should not be used as excuses that rating agencies like Newsweek, Asia Week (discontinued in 2000), Business Week, Washington Monthly and the Times Good University Guide, to cite a few, are useless.

The ratings are quite neutral and, on the whole, provide a comparable basis of academic excellence, as their surveys are quite extensive.

For examples, the Times Higher World University Rankings in 2004 and 2005 for 200 Universities were based on a survey of 2,375 academics from across the world.

Apart from public relations exercise, branding, marketing and competition for a piece of the global business in tertiary education, the ranking does compare the state of education by measuring the competence of the faculty through publications and their research contri-butions.

An insertion in the Science Citation Index or Social Science Citation Index, for example, will score points for the faculty and university.

Universities with better facilities for research tend to attract reputable academic and are popular with funding institutions.

Because they tend to be better endowed, like Harvard (with endowment of RM91.44bil), their pulling capacity is substantially higher than those in the Third World.

It is no secret that the former tend to score better in any ranking system that awards points to funding support and endowment.

The Shanghai Jiao Tong University associates academic quality with the number of Nobel Laureates on the faculty. The Times Higher Education Supplement emphasizes peer review – comprising 40% of the total score.

Newsweek in its latest University Ranking Report (August 2006) combines the criteria of both Shanghai and THES for its order of merit, besides library holdings and its currency.

Rankings provide prospective students with choices. Universities use rankings to showcase their credibility in research and teaching. Having a Nobel Laureate to supervise your thesis will give your resume plenty of mileage. The big names are often on the faculties of better-ranked universities.

It is difficult for educationists and policy makers to swallow reports from ranking agencies, especially when your own institution scores badly in the order of merit. Some become very defensive. Others have faulted rating agencies for their low scores.

The more sober approach is to accept the score and move on.

Any remedial action like improving the quality of university websites is cosmetic in nature. While tinkering with the process is important, it is the entire educational structure that needs to improve.

This requires first-rate faculty, commitment to teaching and research, students who are motivated, good libraries and laboratories among others.

While a first-rate faculty is a prerequisite for academic excellence, it operates best in an environ-ment that values academic freedom to pursue knowl-edge without undue or unreasonable interference.

Freedom to conduct research, promote academic discussion and publish materials without restraint, favour and fear is critical to any university that aspires to be among the world’s best.

Universities should concentrate on the bigger picture. They must ensure a proper climate for research and dissemination of knowledge; and imbue students with quality education and transferable skills useful to society at large.

ISSUEFIVE17

INFORMATIONOPERATIONSCOURSEVENUE: DK1 FACULTY OF COMM. AND MEDIA STUDIESUNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

JUNE 29 - JULY 3, 2009

presented by:

DARREN LAWRENCEDirector of Cranfield Defence and SecurityCranfield University, UK

Research AssociateCranfield Defence and SecurityCranfield University, UK

NIGEL JONES

On Jun 29 to 3rd July, the CMIWS had organized the Information Operations Course at the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, UiTM. The course was conducted by two distinguish lecturers in the field, Darren Lawrence, the Director of PgCert, Defence Academy of The United Kingdom, Cranfield University and Nigel Jones, a Senior Research Fellow of the Academy. The course was attended by more than 30 senior officials of the Malaysian government. The course provides a practical slant on the broad base of professional and academic issues related to influence operation and influence activity that is vital to the nation in facing global challenges.

CMIWSactivity

CMIWS OBJECTIVESProduces students who are highly knowledgeable and skilled in applying media and information warfare techniques and tactics to real life situation.

Produces students of high ability who are able in analysing, evaluating and handling national and global issues from multidisciplinary perspectives.

Produces strategic information providers who are proactive and knowledgeable and have a deep understanding of the legal, ethical and political responsibilities.

Explores, analyse and develop knowledge on media and information warfare via research networks and consultancies, publications, collaborative effort, scholarly exchange programs and archival works.

Hopes to become a reference centre for the country in terms of policy formation and decision making on media and information warfare.

18CMIWS.UITM.EDU.MY

KOREANDELEGATION4th - 6th MAY 2009INTEKMA RESORT & CONVENTION CENTRE

ISSUEFIVE19

CMIWSactivity

Center for Media and Information Warfare Studies (CMIWS)

has sponsored a transfer of technology programme between

Malaysia (UiTM) and South Korea (Korea Aerospace

Research Institute-KARI) together with Geo C & I (Kyung-IL

University South Korea). This programme includes the devel-

opment of Satellite Ground Receiving Station that control the

Komsat Series of South Korean Satellite for UiTM.

INFORMATIONOPERATIONSCOURSEVENUE: DK1 FACULTY OF COMM. AND MEDIA STUDIESUNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

JUNE 29 - JULY 3, 2009

presented by:

DARREN LAWRENCEDirector of Cranfield Defence and SecurityCranfield University, UK

Research AssociateCranfield Defence and SecurityCranfield University, UK

NIGEL JONES

On Jun 29 to 3rd July, the CMIWS had organized the Information Operations Course at the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, UiTM. The course was conducted by two distinguish lecturers in the field, Darren Lawrence, the Director of PgCert, Defence Academy of The United Kingdom, Cranfield University and Nigel Jones, a Senior Research Fellow of the Academy. The course was attended by more than 30 senior officials of the Malaysian government. The course provides a practical slant on the broad base of professional and academic issues related to influence operation and influence activity that is vital to the nation in facing global challenges.

CMIWSactivity

CMIWS OBJECTIVESProduces students who are highly knowledgeable and skilled in applying media and information warfare techniques and tactics to real life situation.

Produces students of high ability who are able in analysing, evaluating and handling national and global issues from multidisciplinary perspectives.

Produces strategic information providers who are proactive and knowledgeable and have a deep understanding of the legal, ethical and political responsibilities.

Explores, analyse and develop knowledge on media and information warfare via research networks and consultancies, publications, collaborative effort, scholarly exchange programs and archival works.

Hopes to become a reference centre for the country in terms of policy formation and decision making on media and information warfare.

18CMIWS.UITM.EDU.MY

KOREANDELEGATION4th - 6th MAY 2009INTEKMA RESORT & CONVENTION CENTRE

ISSUEFIVE19

CMIWSactivity

Center for Media and Information Warfare Studies (CMIWS)

has sponsored a transfer of technology programme between

Malaysia (UiTM) and South Korea (Korea Aerospace

Research Institute-KARI) together with Geo C & I (Kyung-IL

University South Korea). This programme includes the devel-

opment of Satellite Ground Receiving Station that control the

Komsat Series of South Korean Satellite for UiTM.

CMIWSactivity

For More Information Please Contact:CENTRE FOR MEDIA AND INFORMATION WARFARE STUDIES (CMIWS)

FAC. OF COMMUNICATION & MEDIA STUDIES, UiTM, DW10, INTEKMA RESORT & CONVENTION CENTREPERSIARAN RAJA MUDA MUSA, SEKSYEN 7, 40000 SHAH ALAM, SELANGOR D.E

TEL: 03 5522 5328 FAX: 03 5522 5326WEBSITE: http://cmiws.uitm.edu.my EMAIL: CMIWS@salam.uitm.edu.my

CONFERENCE ONINDIAN YOUTHS VENUE: HOLIDAY INN GLENMARIE HOTEL

SHAH ALAM

26 - 28 JUNE, 2009

A three-day conference on “Indian Youths in Malaysia” organized by the Centre for Media and Information Warfare Studies had attracted more than 100 participants from various Indian communities in Malaysia to discuss and share their views on the myriad problems affecting Indian communities in Malaysia. According to the CMIWS’ director, Professor Rajib Ghani, this gathering may open up a new dimension of thoughts of how government should tackle current problems affecting the nation as a whole.