Jurnal Komunikasi, Malaysian Journal of Communication Vol 23: 1-13

This paper addresses the digital divide issues based on a survey of 150 respondents comprising of governments and respondents from rural and urban sectors of selected areas as well as in-depth interviews. The study explored various government measures to encourage the wider uptake of computers and other forms of ICT applications. The study also looked into steps taken to minimize the digital divide gap between residents residing across the rural and urban parts of the country. From the study, it is obvious that the various measures introduced by the government have not been effective in minimizing the digital divide gap between the residents. Clearly, the findings of the study also revealed that the objectives of some of the measures introduced by the government were largely seen as strategic. However, in terms of the planning and implementation mechanisms, the government will need to put in more effort, especially in terms of coordination between the government and other implementation bodies. Isu Ketidakseimbangan Digital: Apakah Jurang Semakin Lebar? Abstrak Makalah ini menyentuh mengenai isu jurang digital berdasarkan kajian survei ke atas 150 orang responden terdiri daripada pegawai kerajaan dan responden dari bandar dan luar bandar di beberapa kawasan terpilih, dan juga teknik temubual mendalam. Kajian tersebut meninjau pelbagai langkah-langkah kerajaan untuk merangsang penggunaan komputer dan aplikasi ICT lain. Kajian juga meninjau langkah-langkah yang diambil untuk mengurangkan jurang digital di antara penduduk bandar dan luar bandar di negara ini. Hasil kajian menunjukkan langkah-langkah yang diimplementasi oleh kerajaan tidak begitu berkesan mengurangkan jurang digital dalam kalangan penduduk. Kajian juga menunjukkan bahawa langkah-langkah kerajaan adalah sebahagian besarnya bersifat strategik. Bagaimana pun, dari segi perancangan dan implementasi, kerajaan perlu berusaha lebih terutamanya meningkatkan koordinasi antara kerajaan dan pihak yang melaksanakan usaha ini.