The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Revolutionizing government procurement - what next for ePerolehan? Posted: 06 Aug 2013 09:07 PM PDT Commerce Dot Com SdnBhd (CDC), in partnership with the Ministry of Finance, has revolutionized the government tender procurement method in Malaysia through its ePerolehan (eP) system. After 13 years in service, ePerolehan has set the standard in tender procurement and there is no turning back. According to Chief Executive Officer CDC, Muzafar Kamal Shahaluddin, CDC is currently working on a new version of the system called "NextGeneP" to be implemented by 2015. "We are looking forward to introduce NextGeneP. As part of CDC's commitment to innovate'Public Commerce', we conducted an in-depth review of the ePerolehan system seeking feedback from the government as well as private companies in order to create NextGeneP," he said. CDC is already developing NextGeneP prototypes following feedback received from the various stakeholders. A wealth of data has also been collected through ePerolehan over the last 13 years that will benefit the government in policymaking and enhancing business efficiency. Human capital development "NextGeneP is a new eP system that will replace the current ePerolehan system by 2015. Its development is part of the overall Government Transformation Programme and it is designed to deliver best in class eProcurement practices to deliver strategic procurement," he added. Furthermore the system's new digital architecture supports the Digital Malaysia initiative, a national programme to advance the country towards a developed digital economy by 2020. It will also further level the playing field for Small Medium Enterprises (SME) as well as create more opportunities. Muzafar said NextGeneP would enhance human resource skills among ePerolehan users. "We do not just see this as a technological advancement but also human capital development," he added. Cost saving There are currently about 50,000 government users, 50,000 business suppliers and 300 CDC employees trained to use the system. NextGeneP will create a new breed of professional procurement officers fulfilling the aspirations of the Government Transformation Programme (GTP). The system will improve purchasing decisions for the government through an automatic purchasing system and predictive analytics. It will also reduce sourcing cycles making business more efficient for the government. CDC Executive Chairman Syed Azmin Syed Nor said through ePerolehan the government has successfully digitized its procurement system. "The system itself has completely transformed the processes of the government, therefore making it more efficient and cost saving," he said. Approximately 70 per cent of Malaysian Government procurement is offered through CDC electronic facilities and this has helped the government to save 27 per cent in cost. Foreign governments have expressed interest Today ePerolehan and CDC are watchwords for efficiency, convenience and simplicity. Syed Azmin added that the success of ePerolehan has been proven and supported CDC's vision 'Advancing Nations through efficient eProcurement solutions'. Foreign governments including Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia are among many having expressed interest in adopting the system. "CDC views its success being the success of the Malaysian Government. We will continue to innovate and improve CDC's electronic ecosystem in order to support growing demands at home and abroad," he said. ePerolehan has seen millions of business transactions since introduced in year 2000 and is now the largest G2B community in Southeast Asia. Companies are enjoying faster payment cycles and this improves their cash flow management besides increased user productivity. Awards ePerolehan has also helped companies adapt to changes in business demands and enhanced accessibility by offering mobility across multiple devices. The company in recent years has emerged as a winner of many awards and accolades. At the international arena, ePerolehan received the Asia Pacific ICT Awards for Best e-Government and Services in 2009 and won the Bronze Award in the Public Category at the ASEAN ICT Awards 2012. While domestically, ePerolehan received the eWorld Award for Best Telecentre Initiative of 2012. In the same year, CDC has been recognised with the Merdeka Award, in Malaysia's Prominent ICT Company category. In addition, in March 2013, ePerolehan has been recognised as Procurement Programme of the Year in FutureGov Awards 2013. NextGenePerolehan is the coming benchmark for public procurement solution. By going 'live' in January 2015, NextGenePerolehan will elevate the public commerce landscape to a new level. - Bernama, August 7, 2013. |
| Healthy eating patterns take root in babyhood: study Posted: 06 Aug 2013 04:54 PM PDT That's the suggestion from a new study out of Brazil which found that preventing anxiety and a preference for fatty, sugary comfort foods later in life starts as early as neonatal care. It's well established that people have a habit of turning to comfort foods in response to emotional stress - foods that are often high in fat and sugar. But it's not just a psychological response as scientists have found that chronic stress in adulthood can also trigger hormonal responses, causing people to "self-medicate" with junk food, a pattern that's particularly common among women. For their research, scientists from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sol exposed a litter of newborn rats to reduced nesting or "early-life stress." Then they measured behavioral anxiety and stress reactions in their adult lives, as well intake of comfort foods over four days. Results showed that exposing the rats to early stress had a measurable impact on their adult lives, as it increased their hormonal response to stress in the form of spiked levels of corticosterone, and a preference for comfort foods. Researchers say the results of their study could have implications for primary care on childhood nutrition in newborns who are already born in stressful conditions, such as low-birth weight babies. The study, which was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior in New Orleans last week, builds on previous research which likewise found that women who eat high-fat, sugary diets during pregnancy are more likely to give birth to babies who may become junk food addicts themselves. That study, out of Australia, was published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal in 2011. - AFP/Relaxnews, August 7, 2013. |
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