|
The main aim of this paper is to examine the usage of telecentres, particularly Kedaikom and its impact community building in Malaysia. KedaiKom is a project undertaken by the Malaysian government to reduce the digital divide among the rural population. Kedaikom offers basic communication services including telephone, fax, typing, photocopying, printing, ICT training, e-mail, and electronic networking. The telecentre is normally the rural population’s first encounter with ICT hence its impact on community building must be studied. The research was conducted using the survey method whereby questionnaires were distributed to six hundred users in 27 Kedaikoms in the state of Perak. However, only 326 were used for analysis. The findings revealed that most of the effective and positive usage objectives of Kedaikom are related to improving skills and knowledge including improvement of working skills, increase in earnings, involvement in teleworks, e-commerce and e-learning; and to save personal transaction time. In addition, other effective and positive Kedaikom usage objectives are related to improving social networks that includes finding new friends or keeping existing friendships; involvement in entertainment; encouraging information sharing; and to be better informed with local information.
The impact of KedaiKom on community building was viewed from two perspectives: capacity for getting ahead and social and digital inclusion. In general, the users agreed that KedaiKom had improved their ICT skills and knowledge as well as their social network. Many of them felt that KedaiKom had helped improve their community well being. In conclusion, the study showed that KedaiKom does impact on community building, i.e., the capacity for getting ahead and social and digital inclusion.
Keywords:
Malaysia, telecentres, community building, KedaiKom, capacity for getting ahead, social and digital inclusion
Download FULL PAPER
Back to Contents
|
