Nominations for M'isa Internet Awards now open
This year, two additional awards--Internet personality of the year and best education Web site--will be given away at a later date yet to be determined sometime in the fourth quarter of this year.
The closing date for nominations is August 17 and entries can be submitted via www.amy.org.my.
The remaining categories for this year are • Most popular local Web site • Best Internet application Web site • Internet company of the year • Best netpreneur • Most creative Web design • Best Malay Web site • Best community development Web site.
Mimos Berhad president and chief executive officer Dr Tengku Mohd Azzman Sharrifadeen told a press conference today that the organisers hope to entice more entries this year.
"The @my2000 Awards received 1,430 entries which was almost triple the figure from 500 the previous year," he said.
Asked about the new Internet personality award, Tengku Mohd Azzman said it is hoped the eventual winner and the nominees would be icons that add value to the local Internet market.
"Malaysia needs to be more competitive but that hasn't happened so far ... hopefully we can play a small role in boosting the local ICT industry," he added.
Mimos is a government corporation, concentrating on ICT research and development as well as offering various ICT-related services. It also operates Jaring, the country's first ISP.
Asked about the recent failure by Telekom Malaysia to purchase Jaring, Mimos's Internet services backbone, Tengku Mohd Azzman said it was "good news for us."
Telekom wanted to acquire Jaring in its bid to be the number one ISP in the country.
"We have many reasons to keep Jaring ... one of the factors was that many corporations, the government sector, non-governmental organizations, were against the deal," he said.
He however, did not elaborate on the other reasons for keeping Jaring in the Mimos stable. Mimos is also involved in chip making, PC manufacturing, IT consulting and outsourcing services.
Tengku Mohd Azzman said Mimos's wide network of fiber optic cables supporting a 2.5GB capacity now cover the west coast of Peninsula Malaysia, from Johor to Penang since the RM400 million (US$105 million) project was begun three years ago.