Maung Maung Oo, “Burma’s IT Dream” (The Irrawaddy, May 2001.

Burma's IT Dream
by Maung Maung Oo
(The Irrawaddy, May 2001)

Burma's belated entry into the IT era is being hampered by a lack of infrastructure and the
ruling junta's fear of losing control over the flow of information.

In March this year. Lt-Gen. Khin Nyunt, Secretary One of the ruling State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC. laid the foundation stone for the first Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) park in Burma.
Weekly magazines, including the well-known Living Color. have boasted of the ICT
Park as being Burma's answer to Silicon Valley. This is a premature claim, indeed-it would
take decades for the country to advance so far.
"Information Technology is a branch of advanced knowledge which a country that
aspires to modernize must posses and utilize," Khin Nyunt said at the opening ceremony of an
e-commerce conference. organized by the Office of Strategic Studies of the Ministry of
Defense.
But many in Rangoon remain skeptical of Burma's first IT park.
Since the SPDC signed an e-Asean agreement in Singapore last December, the "IT
revolution" has become a buzz word for the generals in their attempt to convince people in
Burma that they can save the country from economic crisis and as well as launch Burma into
the IT era.
Yet few people have high hopes for this IT project. Frequent electricity blackouts and
heavy-handed Internet laws will definitely prove an impediment to Burma entering the IT era.
Moreover, so far the software market in Burma is rather small-only banks and department
stores are using computers.

Meanwhile, the government has announced that it will introduce the Intranet, not the Internet.

The SPDC admitted that the country is not yet ready for an IT revolution, as the
infrastructure for IT is still being built in the country. "Although Myanmar's IT infrastructure is
no like that of other nations at the moment, we are already pooling our resources and making

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the necessary preparations to close the gap in the digital divide," said Khin Nyunt, who also
happens to be Chairman of the Myanmar Computer Technology Development Council, in his
address to a meeting of the Myanmar Computer Federation and ASOCIO (Asian-Oceanic
Computing Industry Organization) on May3.
So why all the fuss about an ICT Park? Analysts in Rangoon believe that the government
is expecting to receive assistance from the Japanese government. Former Japanese Prime
Minister Yoshiro Mori said that his government would contribute a US$15 billion aid package
to developing countries for the development of the IT sector, and most of it will benefit Asean
countries, including Burma. In order to receive this assistance, Burma is gearing up for an IT
revolution. Apart from this, Rangoon also wants to lure foreign investors.
To develop the IT industry in a country. it is necessary to build up the infrastructure to
facilitate the IT process. At the very least, a reliable telecommunications system is essential to
the IT revolution.
In Burma, however, provision of telephone lines is insufficient-the number of people
possessing a telephone is only one in 181 . Applying for a phone line in Burma is not easy
unless one has a connection with the authorities.
A trainer from a well-known private computer school in Rangoon said, "Even in my
computer training school in Burma, there are not enough phone lines to connect to the Internet.
I can only teach the theory of IT to my students."
He said that teaching about IT at his school without Internet access is like the blind
leading the blind. Other private computer schools in Burma face similar problems.
A shortage of electricity is perhaps the biggest obstacle to Burma's IT dreams. Zaw Win,
a computer hardware supplier, remarked, "A converter (AC to DC) and a small
generator for a computer are the most basic demands of Burmese computer users
because of frequent blackouts." Residents in Rangoon receive electricity by a quota system that
limits access to just a few hours per day.
"I agree that IT is essential to my country," said a computer science student in Rangoon
who declined to give his name. But he felt that given the current situation in Burma, it is
impractical. "We need human resources," he added.
It was not until 1994 that Burma's first batch of 87 students graduated from the
Computer Science Institute, which is now known as Computer University. A shortage of
experts and professionals for the IT industry are other obstacles, said Kyaw Sann, a software
engineer who is now working at a software company in Singapore. "A friend of mine in Burma,
who is writing computer books in Burmese, told me that even though he is writing to introduce
IT to the Burmese people, he himself has no access to the World Wide Web," he noted.
Recently, leading computer companies in Burma have been allowed to form computer

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associations such as the Myanmar Computer Scientists Association (MCSA), the Myanmar
Computer Industry Association (MCIA), the Myanmar Computer Enthusiasts Association
(MCEA) and the Myanmar Computer Federation (MCF). In order to develop the IT industry,
these associations can receive loans from government banks. In addition to that, in November
2000 the government also set up an e-national task force operated by Myanmar ICT
Development Cooperation Ltd. This task force, according to the junta, will implement the
e-Asean Framework Agreement.
Despite criticism of Burma gearing up for an IT revolution, the country now has 400 IT
classrooms from primary school to university level. Two computer universities in Rangoon and
Mandalay and 19 computer colleges in major cities across the country were also set up to
produce human resources. Nevertheless, these computer schools lack professional teachers.

"Although we have launched our website, we have no chance to review our web pages," said
the editor of a famous journal in Rangoon.

While Internet cafes have mushroomed in neighboring countries, only a few cyber cafes
have emerged in Rangoon. However,
although they call themselves Internet cafes, in fact they have no access to the Internet,
only allowing customers to use CD-ROMS.
Burma's rulers are taking no chances with the new technology. In September 1996, the
Myanmar Computer Science Development Act was promulgated. According to this law,
anybody who possesses a computer or modem without permission can be imprisoned for 7 to
15 years. In Burma, even illegally owning a fax machine can be punished by up to seven years
in prison.
Currently, Burma has about 3,000 e-mail users and about 25 IT companies have Internet
access. Only this year, private periodicals and journals were given permission to launch their
own websites, but even then it must be through an IT company.
Ironically, editors of these journals cannot see their own websites. "Although we have
launched our website, we have no chance to review our web pages," said the editor of a famous
journal in Rangoon. Meanwhile, subscribers to e-mail services complain that they have to wait
three or four days to receive them from IT companies. In fact, many IT companies are
dominated by the relatives of the SPDC or by businessmen who are close to the generals.
Pyone Maung Maung, a well-known businessman in Rangoon, set up CE Technology,
which is running an IT-related business.

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So who benefits from IT? Only the government and its intelligence service. The
government has its own website to disseminate its propaganda and news overseas, while the
intelligence wing effectively collects and sends information in and out of Burma to its
intelligence units and spies.
Meanwhile, the government has announced that it will introduce the Intranet, not the
Internet. The Intranet is only for local use and does not have access to the World Wide Web.
Informed sources in Rangoon said that the main server has only 16 phone lines. Chit Tun Pe,
CEO of Inforithm IT Company, claimed, "Whether it's the Intranet or Internet, both will lead to
the cyber highway." Perhaps in the near future, Burma's e-mail users will have a chance to use
the Intranet. However, the charge is not cheap. To join the Intranet, one must spend 50 FEC, or
US$ 50-several times the average monthly wage for most Burmese.
Dictatorial generals and democratic IT make incongruous partners, and it seems the hope
of Burma producing the next Silicon Valley is a dream that may not come true.