CPB2011 Draft (Update: working draft of CPB2011 has been officially released by MOSTI. Click here to download.)
Latest update on this matter
Also, List of Demands to the Board of Computing Professional Bill 2011 Drafting Committee
Update: from spoonfork - "Hi, I need your help in getting the requests, comments, and questions regarding #CPB2011 to be heard by MOSTI. As such, I would like you and your organizations to support the document that I have prepared. If you agree to support the "COMMON VOICE OF ICT PROFESSIONALS ON BCP2011 AS OF 13 DEC 2011" please let me know so that I can list your groups/organizations in.
"
COMMON VOICE OF ICT PROFESSIONALS ON BCP2011 AS OF 13 DEC 2011
“We
the Malaysian ICT professionals have been alarmed by the sudden
announcement of the Board of Computing Professionals Draft Bill 2011
(hereby referred to as the BCP2011) which caught most of us off-guard
resulting in mixed reactions and unnecessary arguments. As responsible
Malaysian citizens, we trust and respect the Government’s intent to
enhance the ICT profession. In this spirit, we therefore do not object the Government’s intent to form the Board of Computing Professionals but in retrospect, we
have NOT found any information and substantiation that suggests or
concludes that the formation of the Board of Computing Professionals is
the right and only answer to amicably resolve all matters that the Government perceive to be issues relating to the ICT profession, if such issues indeed do exist in the first place.
This document is therefore presented to MOSTI as our joint voice and
concerns in an attempt to seek answers and would in turn appreciate
point by point answers to our questions and agreement to our requests.”
SHARE/PASS THIS ROUND AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE:
After the draconian Peaceful Assembly Bill, Malaysia is now trotting out the next Really Bad Idea: the Computing Professionals Bill 2011. You can read the draft bill here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/75107593/CPB2011-Draft
The gist of it is this: the plan is to create a Board of Computing Professionals and make it mandatory by law for all computing professionals to be registered with and certified by said board.
This board will decide whether you are a 'properly' qualified professional. There will of course be registration fees involved, payable yearly. And a proposed 'fund' created. Why does all this smell rather like a poorly disguised moneymaking scheme?
If you are NOT a registered
member, you are prohibited from submitting
"proposals,plans,designs,drawings,schemes,reports,studies or others to
be determined by the Board to any person or authority in Malaysia".
In
other words, if I don't register, it is technically illegal for me to
even email ANY MALAYSIAN with even an IDEA for a tech-related project.
It would be against the law for me to even sketch, on a napkin, my idea
for a new app while having coffee with someone.
Want to know the hilarious part? The country with a bill nearly identical to ours is...NIGERIA. -> http://www.cpn.gov.ng/index.php?page=showcnt&cat=4&subc=0&id=3 . So we're taking a leaf out of their book? Brilliant, Malaysia, totally brilliant.
In countries like Australia, there are professional bodies like the Australian Computer Society. But enrollment is voluntary - in Malaysia, the powers that be are figuratively putting a gun to the head of every computing professional. "Register or you'll be deemed doing business illegally."
Why is this a big deal? The bill goes against the grain of everything tech stands for. It's about innovation and the freedom to create; things this bill intends to snuff out. What's to stop the country from deciding what kind of tech we're allowed to create?
The bill even states
that IT professionals are not allowed to participate in fields not
within their expertise. So if I'm a registered systems analyst but
taught myself to program in Rails in my spare time, it would be ILLEGAL
for me to do some coding for a client unless I re-declare my skills.
As an IT grad and ex-tech worker, I learned first-hand that it isn't paper qualifications that count as much as proven skills. I know programmers without degrees or any form of certification who are skilled, competent and in most cases, entirely self-taught. After all, the biggest names in the global IT industry —Bill Gates, the late Steve Jobs, Michael Dell and Larry Ellison—dropped out of college.
Dear tech industry workers, I urge you to oppose the bill.
Oppose it because it seeks to force you to limit and narrowly define the scope of your talents.
Oppose it because the government is effectively trying to decide what you can or cannot work on and who you can work with.
Oppose it because unnecessary regulation like this will cripple, not enhance the already challenged industry.
Oppose it because this is a poorly thought out, badly put-together piece of bullcrap.
I'll be damned if I'll let the government insist I register with them and pay them money for the freedom to program, build websites and apps or propose tech-related ideas to my fellow Malaysians.
Also, there will be an open day for the suggestion to the formation of Board of Computing Professionals Malaysia (BCPM):
Tarikh (Date) : 13 Disember 2011 (Selasa/ Tuesday)
Masa (Time) : 9.30 pagi (AM) – 5.00 petang (PM)
Tempat (Venue) : Dewan Perhimpunan,
Aras 1, Blok C4, Kompleks C
Kementerian Sains, Teknologi dan Inovasi
P/S: My of opinion of this Bill: this is bullcrap. Period.
