Recently I attended the 2nd National GIS Conference and Exhibition in Kuala Lumpur sponsored by MaCGDI (Malaysian Centre for Geospatial Data Infrastructure), where I gave a presentation on open source geospatial software.  I think it is fair to say that the open source geospatial message is resonating among those who heard my presentations at MacGDI and previously at an Autodesk event at Pangkor Island.  I found it significant that at this conference, which was attended by government, utilities, and a telco that the open source message was echoed by almost every speaker following my presentation, which was the first in the AM.  However, Malaysia has been active in open source for a long time, so this is not as surprising at it may seem.

Background on Open Source in Malaysia

Like most other emerging nations, Malaysia has been very
positive on the open source movement.  But Malaysia has been one of the real leaders in open source in Southeast Asia, probably because there is an active open source movement and the government has been very active in encouraging open source.  For example, there is an open source competency centre Open Source Competency Centre sponsored by the government.

There are some interesting web sites if you are interested in finding out more about open source in Malaysia including MYOSS mailing list,
the Malaysian National
Computer Confederation Open Source Special Interest
Group (OSSIG) runs the OSSIG mailing list, and there is the mypenguin99 mailing list.  Other sources of information about open source in Malaysia include MyOSS Magazine and Red Hat on Malaysia.

Open Data

One of the most interesting sites I have seen recently is Malaysia Singapore Maps.  This site was developed and is maintained by a non-profit group of GPS mapping enthusiasts, who build and maintain accurate and updated GPS maps of Malaysia and Singapore, totally voluntarily.  The maps are distributed free of charge for personal use.