PRAVIT CHATTLADA / ATCI EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
DON SAMBANDARAKSA
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| Pravit sees changes in attitudes |
It is only when you look back at the past 20 years with the benefit of hindsight do you see the real changes in attitudes towards IT, according to Pravit Chattlada, executive director of the Association of Thai ICT Industry.
Up until 1993 Pravit was IBM Thailand's director for management services, public affairs and government relations. He recalled how IBM introduced the PC in 1981, but in the early days it was only the government, multinationals and banks that were interested in this still very expensive box. One of the highlights of that decade was being able to convince IBM corporate HQ to develop a Thai-language display system, starting from scratch.
In fact, Pravit had to bring one of his largest customers, the Ministry of Defence, to help him put forward his case that IBM's investment in the Thai-language system would be justified by extra sales. Back then, all of this was a significant milestone, but in retrospect, today's programmers take it for granted and as part of the operating system and general IT ecosystem, the former IBM systems engineer said.
But the biggest change was one of attitude towards IT in management and intellectual property rights. "In the early 80s, the general perception among the public was a fear of IT and automation, of how these thinking machines and robots would replace people and leave them all unemployed," he related.
"I remember the staff at Bangkok Bank protesting when they rolled-out their first ATMs. Even the Bank of Thailand saw the use of ATM as something to be carefully controlled at first."
But today, that fear of technology and of automation has all but disappeared.
Another more subtle change that happened in that decade was how IT became a matter for executives and not the white-coat technicians in the computer room.
"Executive education, especially in government, was very difficult. Many flatly refused and took it as an insult that IBM was trying to teach them something. The minister knew everything and was beyond reproach. Today, executive training is an everyday affair," he said.
But the biggest change in attitudes was the concept of intellectual property.
Back in the 80s, IBM was trying to promote the concept of intellectual property rights and teach people that software was an invention. But many Thai academics and legal experts, including some prominent figures in the previous administration and Senate, had argued that a small country such as Thailand, as a matter of principle, should not adopt the theory of IPR as it was nothing but a ploy by the US to milk money from the developing world.
Today, that attitude has changed and everyone accepts the concept of IPR. Even software pirates understand IPR, but choose to intentionally violate the agreements.
IBM has been selling computers in Thailand since 1963 but during the early years, not only was IT an expensive luxury only for the largest multinationals, but the Thai authorities were taxing IT to the tune of 20 to 30 percent. Pravit remembers the late eighties and early nineties as a time of free trade talks and the World Trade Organisation, which pressured Thailand to reduce duties on computers, along with 199 other items, to zero. The WTO also helped start Thailand on the road to telecom liberalisation.
But one of the biggest successes was IBM's decision to set up a hard disk manufacturing plant in Si Racha. Pravit managed to convince IBM Storage Technology to go ahead with the investment not just with the usual Board of Investment incentives, but by arguing that Thailand had an ample supply of women with small hands in the textile industry.
"These women are good at doing fine work such as weaving and could be retrained to do intricate hard drive assembly tasks. IBM agreed and thus Thailand started on the path to become the world's largest manufacturer of hard disks," he recalled.
However, his memories of working with government are somewhat less positive. Pravit was working with Nectec on the establishment of Thailand's first national IT plan, IT2000, which was loosely modelled after the plan adopted by Singapore. Unfortunately, during the 10 years of the plan, nothing happened. "Asean, especially Singapore and Malaysia, made huge advances while Thailand fell behind by staying still," he said.
Was the reason the 1997 financial crisis? Pravit thinks not. "We had a plan, but with no responsible agency. It was not until 2002 that we got an ICT Ministry, but it was too weak. Each ministry had their own ideas for ICT and the ICT Ministry was powerless to make things happen. There was no focus, people got confused. If you ask 100 people what e-government means today, you will get 100 different answers," he said.
The other key weakness was instability. In four years, the ICT Ministry has had no less than five ministers. Of these, Pravit says only Dr Surapong Suebwonglee managed to stay long enough to let people know what he stood for.
At this point, Pravit recalled how a young researcher by the name of Sitthichai Pokai-udom was one of the first recipients of the IBM Invention Awards. Back then, today's ICT Minister developed a machine to measure the humidity of rice. Unfortunately, the awards ended after Pravit retired from IBM in 1993.
Moving forward, Pravit says that Thailand needs an organisation like Singapore's Infocomm Development Agency (IDA), a special body charged with ICT development, independent but with its own laws.
"We need something like Nectec, but with proper laws to give it proper teeth," he said. "Regular government bodies are fine for stable technologies, but not for IT where the boundaries of what is possible is changing all the time."
But most importantly, the elder statesman of Thai IT feels that Thai culture needs to change if we are to survive and prosper for another 20 years.
"We have forgotten our past and are not taking advantage of it," he said. Pravit feels that software today offers the best chance for Thai culture to take root. Innovation can turn a computer into things to sell, into services, content or any number of weird and wonderful things.
But today, Pravit Chattalada is worried about the talk in this government of not wanting to compete in the flat world that has been created by the Internet. His seven decades of experience have brought him to believe that there is no middle ground between capitalism and socialism, and if Thailand is to remain in the capitalist world, we have no choice but to compete to win.
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