Globalization and the Internet: Comparing the Middle Eastern and Malaysian Experiences

Middle East Journal

Volumn 55, Issue 3, 2001, Pages 415-458

  Huff, Toby E ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 0346977254     PISSN: 00263141     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (81)

1. See among others, Richard R. Nelson, National Innovation Systems (New York: Columbia University Press, 1993), Cynthia Ostry and R. R. Nelson, Techno-Nationalism and Techno-Clobalism (Wash. D.C.: Brookings Institution, 1995); R. R. Nelson and Paul Romer, "Science, Economic Growth and Public Policy," Challenge (March-April 1996): 9-21.
2. See among others, Richard R. Nelson, National Innovation Systems (New York: Columbia University Press, 1993), Cynthia Ostry and R. R. Nelson, Techno-Nationalism and Techno-Clobalism (Wash. D.C.: Brookings Institution, 1995); R. R. Nelson and Paul Romer, "Science, Economic Growth and Public Policy," Challenge (March-April 1996): 9-21.
3. See among others, Richard R. Nelson, National Innovation Systems (New York: Columbia University Press, 1993), Cynthia Ostry and R. R. Nelson, Techno-Nationalism and Techno-Clobalism (Wash. D.C.: Brookings Institution, 1995); R. R. Nelson and Paul Romer, "Science, Economic Growth and Public Policy," Challenge (March-April 1996): 9-21.
4. These trends were lucidly set out by a correspondent for Fortune magazine a number of years ago; see Thomas Stewart, "Welcome to the Revolution," Fortune (December 13, 1993); among others.
5. For example, Immanuel Wallerstein, The World System (New York: Academic Press, 1974); John Meyer, "The World Polity and the Authority of the Nation-State," pp. 109-38 in Studies in of the World System, ed. A. Bergesen (New York: Academic Press, 1980) ; John Meyer, "World Expansion of Mass Education, 1870-1980," Sociology of Education 65 (1992): 128-149.
6. For example, Immanuel Wallerstein, The World System (New York: Academic Press, 1974); John Meyer, "The World Polity and the Authority of the Nation-State," pp. 109-38 in Studies in of the World System, ed. A. Bergesen (New York: Academic Press, 1980) ; John Meyer, "World Expansion of Mass Education, 1870-1980," Sociology of Education 65 (1992): 128-149.
7. For example, Immanuel Wallerstein, The World System (New York: Academic Press, 1974); John Meyer, "The World Polity and the Authority of the Nation-State," pp. 109-38 in Studies in of the World System, ed. A. Bergesen (New York: Academic Press, 1980) ; John Meyer, "World Expansion of Mass Education, 1870-1980," Sociology of Education 65 (1992): 128-149.
8. Roland Robertson, "Modernization, Globalization and the Problem of Culture in the World System Theory," Theory, Culture and Society, Vol. 2 No. 3: pp. 103-18, at p. 103.
9. Manuel Castells, The Rise of the Network Society, 2nd ed. (Malden, Ma: Blackwell, 2000), 3 vols.
10. Clement M. Henry, "Challenge of Global Capital Markets to Information-Shy Regimes: The Case of Tunisia." (UAE: The Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research. Occasional Papers #19), 1998.
11. UNHDP, Human Development Report 2000 (New York: Oxford, 2000), Table 12, p. 201. This aggregate for Arab states lists 19 countries, including the UAE.
12. World Bank, Knowledge for Development (New York: Oxford, 1999), Table 19, p. 227 and World Development Report 2000/2001 (New York: Oxford, 2000), Table 19, p. 311.
13. World Bank, Knowledge for Development (New York: Oxford, 1999), Table 19, p. 227 and World Development Report 2000/2001 (New York: Oxford, 2000), Table 19, p. 311.
14. The World Bank does not report data for the UAE because the UAE is not included in its definition of MENA. However, the United Nations Human Development Report 2000 (New York: Oxford, 2000), includes the UAE among the "Arab states" and lists the UAE has having 7.61 per 1,000 (or 76.1 per 10,000) Internet Hosts in 1998; Table 12, p. 198. For present purposes, the UAE, with a population of only about 3 million and vast oil reserves, is treated as an outlier. Turkey likewise is not included in official MENA definitions but it is useful to include it in this analysis.
15. 2 = .222) of Internet growth is explained by GDP for the top 20 nations.
16. For an historical overview of the legal separation of the public and the private, see Toby Huff, "Science and the Public Sphere: Comparative Institutional Development in Islam and the West," Social Epistemology , Vol.11 No. 1 (1997): pp. 25-37. Also see Huff, "The Internet and the Public Sphere: Technologies of Control or Liberation and Development," Hybridity: Journal of Culture, Text and Identities in Singapore and the World, Vol. 1 (2000): pp. 1-14.
17. For an historical overview of the legal separation of the public and the private, see Toby Huff, "Science and the Public Sphere: Comparative Institutional Development in Islam and the West," Social Epistemology , Vol.11 No. 1 (1997): pp. 25-37. Also see Huff, "The Internet and the Public Sphere: Technologies of Control or Liberation and Development," Hybridity: Journal of Culture, Text and Identities in Singapore and the World, Vol. 1 (2000): pp. 1-14.
18. www2.mincom.gov..ma/mol/content/eviewCat.asp?5; www2.mincom.gov..ma/mol/content/eviewCat.asp?9
19. UNHDP, Human Development Report 2000 (New York: Oxford, 2000), Table 1, p. 157. On the Human Development Index (HDI) Malaysia is ranked 61 while Morocco is ranked at 124.
20. My visit to Morocco largely confirms the state of Internet development described in the Human Rights Watch Report, The Internet in the Mideast and North Africa: Free Expression and Censorship (June, 1999), www.hrw.org/advocacy/internet/mena/index.htm. While Moroccans say that "apparently" there is no Web surveillance, an incident occurred in March 2001 involving a journalist's report about diplomatic disagreements over the administratio i of the Western Sahara. Subsequently a Web site discussing the issue was closed down.
21. This statement was made by Professor Salah Ben Abdallah, General Director of IRSIT (Institut Régional des Sciences Informatiques et des Télécommunications) during a conference at which an earlier version of this paper was presented. The Conference was on "Attitudes Toward Science" organized by the Center for Social and Economic Research (CERES) at the University of Tunis, January 27-28, 1999, under the direction of Professor Lilia Labidi in the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences. An overview of the Conference was published by the present writer in Technoscience, Vol. 12 No. 2 (1999): pp. 18-19.
22. See Human Rights Watch, The Internet in the Mideast and North Africa: Free Expression and Censorship, hrw.org/advocacy/internet/mena/index.htm
23. See Douglas Jehl, "The Internet's 'Open Sesame' is Answered Warily," New York Times, March 18, 1999.
24. The following section has benefited from a return visit to Malaysia in September of 1999. I want to thank the Center for Advanced Studies at the National University of Singapore for making my trip to Singapore and Malaysia possible.
25. The Malaysian government originally rejected the idea of simply opening up the development of the Internet to private enterprise. Their feeling was that private enterprise would develop the infrastructure in a very uneven fashion, and that it would be far less committed to the values of Malaysian society and a principled attempt to provide equality of access. However, the telecommunications industry in Malaysia is now fully privatized.
26. MSC Web page: www.mdc.my/index.html
27. Both locations were officially opened in June and July of 1999. The Multimedia Development Corporation (MDC) has been working out of its headquarters in Cyberjaya for about a year as of August 1999.
28. MSC Web page: www.mdc.my/index.html
29. This compares to "as many as 20 documents and six months" needed to request a new business in Morocco. World Bank, Claiming the Future (1995), p. 6.
30. MSC Press release, November 12, 1998.
31. MSC Press Release, November 12, 1998.
32. For the knowledge workers exchange : web.kwx.com.my/kwx/asp/index.asp
33. MSC Press Release November 12, 1998.
34. There are political tensions between Malaysia and Singapore, generated largely by the desire of the Singaporean leadership to keep an external threat alive to fuel its "survivalist" ideology. See Beng Huat Chua, Communitarian Ideology and Democracy in Singapore (London: Routledge, 1995); as well as Michael Haas, ed., The Singapore Puzzle (Westport, Conn.: Praeger Press, 1999).
35. There are political tensions between Malaysia and Singapore, generated largely by the desire of the Singaporean leadership to keep an external threat alive to fuel its "survivalist" ideology. See Beng Huat Chua, Communitarian Ideology and Democracy in Singapore (London: Routledge, 1995); as well as Michael Haas, ed., The Singapore Puzzle (Westport, Conn.: Praeger Press, 1999).
36. Kenneth Corey, "Electronic space: Creating and Controlling Cyber Communities in Southeastern Asia and the United States," www.ssc.msu.edu/~Dean p. 3.
37. Daniel Bell, The Coming of Post-Industrial Society. A Venture in Social Forecasting (New York: Basic Books, 1973) Peter F. Drucker, The Age of Discontinuity (London: Heinemann, 1969); and The New Realities (London: Mandarin, 1989).
38. Daniel Bell, The Coming of Post-Industrial Society. A Venture in Social Forecasting (New York: Basic Books, 1973) Peter F. Drucker, The Age of Discontinuity (London: Heinemann, 1969); and The New Realities (London: Mandarin, 1989).
39. Daniel Bell, The Coming of Post-Industrial Society. A Venture in Social Forecasting (New York: Basic Books, 1973) Peter F. Drucker, The Age of Discontinuity (London: Heinemann, 1969); and The New Realities (London: Mandarin, 1989).
40. Dr. Tengku Mohd. Azzman Shariffadeen, "Moving Toward a More Intelligent use of Human Intelligence," presented at INFOTECH 95 Malaysia, November 1-5, 1995, Kuala Lumpur.
41. Azzman, "Moving Toward a More Intelligent use of Human Intelligence," p. 3.
42. Azzman, "Moving Toward a More Intelligent use of Human Intelligence."
43. Azzman, p. 4.
44. Paul Romer, "Endogenous Technological Change," Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 98 No. 5 pt 2, 1990, pp. s71-s102, and "Two Strategies for Economic Development: Using Ideas and Producing Ideas," in Proceedings of the World Bank Annual Conference on Development Economics 1992 (Washington, DC World Bank, 1993), pp. 63-91; as well as Richard R. Nelson, and Paul Romer, "Science, Economic Growth, and Public Policy," Challenge (March- April 1996), pp. 9-21.
45. Paul Romer, "Endogenous Technological Change," Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 98 No. 5 pt 2, 1990, pp. s71-s102, and "Two Strategies for Economic Development: Using Ideas and Producing Ideas," in Proceedings of the World Bank Annual Conference on Development Economics 1992 (Washington, DC World Bank, 1993), pp. 63-91; as well as Richard R. Nelson, and Paul Romer, "Science, Economic Growth, and Public Policy," Challenge (March- April 1996), pp. 9-21.
46. Paul Romer, "Endogenous Technological Change," Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 98 No. 5 pt 2, 1990, pp. s71-s102, and "Two Strategies for Economic Development: Using Ideas and Producing Ideas," in Proceedings of the World Bank Annual Conference on Development Economics 1992 (Washington, DC World Bank, 1993), pp. 63-91; as well as Richard R. Nelson, and Paul Romer, "Science, Economic Growth, and Public Policy," Challenge (March- April 1996), pp. 9-21.
47. World Bank, Knowledge for Development 1998/99 (New York: Oxford, 1999).
48. Azzman Shariffadeen, "Moving Toward a More Intelligent use of Human Intelligence," p. 4.
49. Azzman, "Moving Toward," p. 3.
50. Azzman, "The Malaysian Development Experience," National Institute of Public Administration, Kuala Lumpur, 1994, p. 3.
51. The 1991 Census gave a breakdown of the population as follows: 57% Malay and indigenous descent (who are presumed to be Muslims), 27% Chinese, about 8% Indian, and the balance composed of non-Malays and non-Malaysians. As reported in Europa World Yearbook. (London: Europa Publications Limited, 1996), p. 2069.
52. Jomo KS and Greg Felker eds., Technology, Competitiveness and the State: Malaysia's Industrial Technology Policies (New York: Routledge, 1999), p. 30 n1; and E.T. Gomez and Jomo KS, Malaysia's: Political Economy (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997).
53. Jomo KS and Greg Felker eds., Technology, Competitiveness and the State: Malaysia's Industrial Technology Policies (New York: Routledge, 1999), p. 30 n1; and E.T. Gomez and Jomo KS, Malaysia's: Political Economy (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997).
54. I first learned of this strategic change of plan from Dr Azzman during his presentation on the MSC in Sept of 1996. It was repeated by the Assistant to the President of the Multimedia Development Corporation during an interview with her while I was in Malaysia in September 1999.
55. Mahathir Mohammad, Mahathir Mohammad On the Multimedia Super Corridor. (Kuala Lumpur: Pelanduk Publications, 1998), p. 8.
56. See note 2 above.
57. Kevin Hill and John E. Hughes, Cyberpolitics. Citizen Activism in the Age of the Internet (Lanham, Maryland: Roman and Littlefield, 1998), p. 81.
58. Hill and Hughes, p. 84.
59. Hill and Hughes, pp. 87-88.
60. Hill and Hughes, Figure 4.6, p. 96.
61. World Bank, Malaysia. Enterprise Training, Technology and Productivity (Washington , D. C: The World Bank , 1997).
62. For an analysis of this, see AnnLee Saxenian, "Silicon Valley's New Immigrant Entrepreneurs," (June 1999) www.ppic.org/publications/PPIC120/index.html
63. I thank my colleagues at the National University of Singapore, Zaheer Baber and Ho Kong Chong, for these insights learned from conversations with them in August 1999 while I was a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies.
64. See Donald Horowitz, "The Qur'an and the Common Law: Islamic Law Reform and the Theory of Legal Change," The American Journal of Comparative Law, Vol. 42 (1994); pp. 233-293, and pp. 545-580.
65. Paul Romer "Endogenous Technological Change," (1990), S72, idem. , 1993, as well as Nelson and Romer "Science, Economic Growth, and Public Policy," Challenge, 1996, : esp. 14ff.
66. Paul Romer "Endogenous Technological Change," (1990), S72, idem. , 1993, as well as Nelson and Romer "Science, Economic Growth, and Public Policy," Challenge, 1996, : esp. 14ff.
67. Azzman, "Beyond Information Literary: A Malaysian Experiment." (Presented to the APEC Conference on Information Literacy. November 4-7, 1997, Tokyo, Japan), p. 10.
68. Azzman, "Beyond Information Literacy."
69. There have been various discussions of the roles that religion, traditional values, and technological training should play in Malaysia. Needless to say, there is considerable tension between the demands of tradition, the desire to balance the educational achievements of the various ethnic groups (especially Malays versus Chinese), and the need for many more technically trained individuals in an economy whose leaders aspire to reach full maturity by 2020. Among others, see Lim Teck Ghee, "Higher Education in Malaysia and Singapore: Common Roots but Differing Directions," Higher Education Policy, Vol. 6, No. 2 (1993), pp. 20-24; and Rosnani Hasim, Educational Dualism in Malaysia: Implications for Theory and Practice (Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1996).
70. There have been various discussions of the roles that religion, traditional values, and technological training should play in Malaysia. Needless to say, there is considerable tension between the demands of tradition, the desire to balance the educational achievements of the various ethnic groups (especially Malays versus Chinese), and the need for many more technically trained individuals in an economy whose leaders aspire to reach full maturity by 2020. Among others, see Lim Teck Ghee, "Higher Education in Malaysia and Singapore: Common Roots but Differing Directions," Higher Education Policy, Vol. 6, No. 2 (1993), pp. 20-24; and Rosnani Hasim, Educational Dualism in Malaysia: Implications for Theory and Practice (Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1996).
71. Romer, "Endogenous Technological Change," p. 89.
72. Among others see Huff, "The Internet and the Public Sphere: Technologies of Control or Liberation and Development; and Lawrence Lessig, Code and other Laws of Cyberspace (New York: Basic Books, 1999)."
73. Among others see Huff, "The Internet and the Public Sphere: Technologies of Control or Liberation and Development; and Lawrence Lessig, Code and other Laws of Cyberspace (New York: Basic Books, 1999)."
74. "Bonn Outlines its plans for first 'cyber sheriff'," Financial Times, April 22, 1997, as reported in Corey, "Electronic Space: Creating and Controlling Cyber Communities in Southeastern Asia and the United States," www.ssc.msu.edu/~Dean/, p. 17;
75. "Bonn Outlines its plans for first 'cyber sheriff'," Financial Times, April 22, 1997, as reported in Corey, "Electronic Space: Creating and Controlling Cyber Communities in Southeastern Asia and the United States," www.ssc.msu.edu/~Dean/, p. 17;
76. Corey, "Electronic Space," pp. 10-13. For a discussion of the control of media in Singapore and South East Asia more generally, see Christopher Lingle, The Rise and Fall of the Asian Century (Hong Kong: Asia 2000 Limited, 1998), pp. 157-189 ; and Derek Davies, "The Press," in The Singapore Puzzle, ed. Michael Haas (Westport, CT.: Praeger Press, 1999), pp. 77-107.
77. Corey, "Electronic Space," pp. 10-13. For a discussion of the control of media in Singapore and South East Asia more generally, see Christopher Lingle, The Rise and Fall of the Asian Century (Hong Kong: Asia 2000 Limited, 1998), pp. 157-189 ; and Derek Davies, "The Press," in The Singapore Puzzle, ed. Michael Haas (Westport, CT.: Praeger Press, 1999), pp. 77-107.
78. Corey, "Electronic Space," pp. 10-13. For a discussion of the control of media in Singapore and South East Asia more generally, see Christopher Lingle, The Rise and Fall of the Asian Century (Hong Kong: Asia 2000 Limited, 1998), pp. 157-189 ; and Derek Davies, "The Press," in The Singapore Puzzle, ed. Michael Haas (Westport, CT.: Praeger Press, 1999), pp. 77-107.
79. Chong Chee Kin, "Singet Scanning Computers," Straits Times, April 30, 1999: "More than 2000,000 SingNet and Singtel Magix customers' computers, or close to half of all Internet subscribers here, are being scanned without their knowledge to see if their systems are vulnerable to hacker attacks." Spokesmen for the companies then have the audacity to claim, "There is no invasion of privacy at all. Basically what we did was to check if the systems had open windows through which hackers can exploit."
80. Doug Jehl, "The Internet's 'Open Sesame' is Answered Warily," New York Times, March 18, 1999.
81. The really big issues concerning the "architecture" of the Web, including all of the hidden means of tracking and surveillance, especially by commercial agents, have only just become visible and have been set out with striking verve by Lawrence Lessig, Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace. Consequently, at the moment the threat of surveillance of individuals on the Web is far greater than the threats to political regimes, authoritarian or otherwise.