Digital Policy Council Identifies Prime Minister of Malaysia as a Role Model for Good Governance on the Net

The Digital Policy Council latest research investigates the potential of new media technologies to advance good governance in Muslim-majority nations.

WASHINGTON, May 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Digital Policy Council (DPC), an international, non-partisan "think tank" on 21st Century Governance, has compiled some ground breaking research investigating the use of social media by heads of state and political activist within Muslim-majority nations.

The DPC is the research and public advocacy arm of Digital Daya ('digital influence'), a new generation strategic consultancy that empowers leaders in the public sectors to leverage the new media of the Internet to communicate their message, build public influence, and execute high-impact programs to reshape governance and public policy.

According to The Digital Policy Council's most recent research, there are 225 million Muslims online today and with a compound annual growth rate of 30%, that Internet population is expected to swell to one billion by 2015.  Encouragingly, the research identifies many Islamic leaders who recognize the Internet and its ever growing online community as a tool for better governance, more effective citizen engagement, and highly impactful politicking.

A Role Model of Leadership

One such progressive leader is the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who strives to be connected with the people though his Facebook and Twitter accounts along with his blog www.1malaysia.com.my. Prime Minister Najib's 1Malaysia program has a goal to preserve and enhance racial unity in among the many ethnic groups that make up the diverse population of the Muslim-majority nation of Malaysia. The DPC research shows that the 1Malaysia Facebook profile has already attracted over 50,000 fans and furthermore ranks the Prime Minister among the top ten heads of state who use Twitter for citizen engagement.

Prime Minister Najib's 1Malaysia program is an assurance of new leadership for the nation and an inspirational model on next generation governance for the Islamic World.  

Malaysia is regarded as a role model in the governance of Islamic banking and finance holding $86 billion in banking assets, 152 fund managers, and 63% of the global sukuk ('Islamic bond') market.  Similarly, Malaysia commands a pivotal leadership role in the governance of the Islamic Halal certifications for food and consumer products establishing a globally recognized trust mark and the standard to beat for this trillion dollar industry.

Malaysia has also played as a bridge between the Islamic World and the West; moreover with Prime Minister Najib's productive bi-lateral talks with the U.S. President in Washington D.C. there is a growing recognition of Malaysia as an "increasingly successful nation".

At a time when governments around the world desperately need new solutions to deal with the immense challenges of social unrest and "citizen engagement", there is a window of opportunity for Malaysia to similarly take the pole position on 21st Century governance to provide the leadership necessary to deal with the many important aspects of social changes that will affect both Malaysia and the rest of the Islamic world in the near future.  

Download the reports at www.digitaldaya.com/the_gathering_storm and www.digitaldaya.com/the_ilham

About The Digital Policy Council™

The Digital Policy Council (DPC) is an international, non-partisan 'think tank' that promotes good governance and policy-making.  The research and policy arm of the management consultancy firm Digital Daya™, DPC's mission is the advancement of open discourse on issues of inclusive governance through the use of the Internet and Web 2.0.

http://www.digitaldaya.com/

SOURCE The Digital Policy Council