MSC MALAYSIA APICTA 2011 AWARDS: RECOGNIZING MALAYSIAN ICT EXCELLENCE

Malaysia’s Foremost ICT Awards Picks 28 Nominees to Represent Nation in International APICTA Awards in Pattaya, Thailand

KUALA LUMPUR, OCTOBER 25, 2011 – The MSC Malaysia Asia-Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) Awards Presentation, jointly organised by Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) and the Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry of Malaysia (PIKOM), saw local blog, ‘Life through My Eyes’ (www.apistakkisah.blogspot.com) by Muhammad Hafiz bin Ismail receive the coveted Prime Minister Best of the Best Award, beating out almost 250 other submissions at Malaysia’s premier ICT awards platform.Tan Sri Abdul Halim Ali, Chairman of Multimedia Development Corporation addressing the winners and guests of the APICTA Awards 2011

Themed “Stimulating Creativity, Innovation and Excellence in ICT” and dubbed the “Oscars of the ICT World”, this prestigious awards platform saw 246 Malaysian companies, individuals and even students submit their ‘Made-in-Malaysia’ ICT solutions to compete across a total of 19 categories, including the all-new Sustainability and Green IT category. From that total, 35 submissions were selected for recognition as either Winner or Merits in their respective categories.
Muhammad Hafiz bin Ismail receiving the award for Best of e-Learning. Muhammad Hafiz was also the recipient of the coveted Prime Minister Best of the Best Award

YAB Datuk Seri Maximus Johnity Ongkili, the Minister of Science, Technology & Innovation lauded the importance of ICT in driving the creative and innovative spark in our country, by saying, “The MSC Malaysia APICTA Awards is one of the platforms that underline the Government’s ambitions to drive creativity and innovation in the new economy, which inherently leads to greater wealth creation, quality of life and societal well-being for the country. In fact, the World Bank Report 2010, listed innovation as one of the three reforms necessary to drive the Malaysian GDP forward by 5% or more, year-on-year.” APICTA Awards 2011 judges with Tan Sri Abdul Halim Ali, Chairman of Multimedia Development Corporation and YAB Datuk Seri Maximus Johnity Ongkili, the Minister of Science, Technology & Innovation seated in the centre

Tan Sri Abdul Halim Ali, Chairman of Multimedia Development Corporation echoed that sentiment, stating, “Both the local and international versions of the APICTA Awards have so far proven to be effective stepping stones for the top local companies on the cusp of greatness to fully realize their potential and to be recognized for their innovation, creativity and all-round stellar quality to make it on the world stage. The addition of the Sustainability and Green IT category also indicates how this awards platform is anticipating technology trends and providing the necessary recognition to help grow in-demand ICT sub-sectors”

All in all, the notable winners were as follows: -

• Best of E-Government – IRIS AXESS P5000 (IRIS Corporation Bhd.)
• Best of Security – Secure Token ST3 (SecureMetric Technology Sdn. Bhd.)
• Best of Financial Applications – Digital Transaction Banker (eBworx Bhd.)
• Best of Start-Up Companies – Open Dynamics Sdn. Bhd.
• Best of Tertiary Student SoftWare/Hardware Projects – Health3 (UCTI)

The Winner and Merit recipients were selected by a panel of judges consisting of local industry experts and ICT figures alike, including Tn. Hj. Burhanuddin Md. Radzi, Managing Director of Les' Copaque Production Sdn. Bhd; Norizan Abdul Razak (Ph.D), Associate Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, UKM; Nizam Razak, Managing Director of Animonsta Studios; and many others.Sekolah Kebangsaan Dua Sungai, winners of the Best of Primary Student Project

All MSC Malaysia APICTA Winner and Merit recipients this year will also get the oportunity to compete for international recognition at the International APICTA event being held in Pattaya, Thailand later this year. Past International APICTA winners have also gone on to contribute significantly to raising the Malaysian flag on the global ICT stage, with two such examples being: -

• International APICTA Awards 2004 Winner for the Category of “Media & Entertainment”, console game developer CyberPlanet Interactive Co. Ltd., which has since then become a public-listed company and expanded into China and Japan to become the largest console game developer in South East Asia.
• International APICTA Awards 2007 Winner of the “Best Start-Up Company” award, Les’ Copaque now rated as one of Malaysia’s foremost production and animation houses with its flagship animation series, “Upin & Ipin” now broadcast not just here in Malaysia, but in Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, Philippines, Vietnam, HongKong and South Korea, amongst others.

For more information on the MSC Malaysia APICTA Awards and how to participate, as well as the International APICTA Awards, please visit www.mscapicta.com.my today.