KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is lagging in its efforts to achieve a 50% broadband penetration by the end of 2010, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili said.

“Things are rather slow. The concern of the broadband industry is that we need to move at a faster rate. The target is to achieve 50% broadband penetration by next year.

“Currently, we are still at 22%, 26% at the most. It is outside my portfolio. I am looking into the strategy, policy and content but not the infrastructure for the industry,” he said yesterday.

Speaking at the launch of Pikom’s (Malaysian IT industry Association) National ICT Month, the minister said there was an issue of collaboration with the various ministries to speed up the implementation of high-speed broadband.

“We are communicating (with the various ministries). This is outside the realm of Mosti,” he said.

Pikom had earlier urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to form a dedicated ministry to handle the information, communication and technology (ICT) sector, suggesting that such a move would help boost the industry during the current adverse global economic conditions, but that was not realised.

Ongkili said the ministry had set up a 12-member special task force to monitor the impact of the financial crisis on the industry.

The members include representatives from Pikom, Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water, Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) and Mosti.

Some of the issues that have been identified by the task force include broadband rollout and collaboration between the ministries. “We are currently identifying issues and these will be presented to the cabinet,” Ongkili said.

Pikom chairman David Wong said various initiatives would be carried out during the National ICT Month scheduled for July 30 to Aug 30 to generate demand and boost sales for the industry.

“The National ICT Month is partly an initiative to cushion the impact of the economic crisis.

“This is also to support the implementation of broadband because at the end of the day, the demand generated from all these promotions would make sure that the usage of ICT is there,” Wong said.

He also said the export market had been badly affected. “Targeted markets like the Middle East have been badly hit. So we are working with Miti to look for new markets,” he said.

MDeC chief executive officer Datuk Badlisham Ghazali said the initiative was also aimed at supporting the government’s call for traditional industries to move up the value chain by putting in more e-enabling tools like ICT. This would encourage more companies to participate in e-commerce, he said.