A three-year undertaking
Abang Johari shares his vision for Sarawak on ‘Mandat’.
Internet connectivity plans to ensure rural folk get share of digital pie, says Chief Minister
KUCHING: Plans to expand high-speed Internet connectivity in rural Sarawak are being aggressively implemented to ensure rural communities can fully and effectively participate in the digital economy.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said the infrastructure is expected to be in place within three years’ time.
Abang Johari pointed out he is pushing for Sarawak to embrace digital technology because it is the only way to accelerate transformation and bridge the socioeconomic divide between urban and rural areas to become a high income state by 2030.
“But our weakness is the lack of speed in Internet connectivity, especially in rural areas. So the state government has approved RM1 billion while Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has topped up another RM500 million to expand the infrastructure,” he said on the TV3 programme ‘Mandat’ on Thursday.
“We are looking at increasing the speed from 6mbps to at least 100mbps so we need to upgrade to fibre optics, set up cloud computing, and build more (cell) towers. The plan has been rolled out since 2014 and in two to three years’ time, the rural communities can enjoy better Internet access.”
Abang Johari said rural communities will definitely benefit from numerous economic and social advantages from the availability of the Internet including modernising the approach to agriculture.
“We don’t need big land but focus on managing a 10 to 30acre farm using AI (artificial intelligence) technology with sensors such as fertigation, which can be done remotely through smartphones,” he explained.
“We have a pilot project in Santubong producing rock melons and other vegetables including chilli with only one person managing the farm and is an engineer. The income from this is also better than conventional farming. There is another project in Kuala Rajang, which is also participated by women, and they are showing keenness and curiosity in managing the farm with technology.”
With high-speed Internet access coupled with mobile payment to ease transactions and expand market reach through Sarawak Pay, Abang Johari said the younger generation would be attracted to venture into agriculture.
He added that training and education would be given to young Sarawakians, who make up 60 per cent of the population, with minimum academic qualifications of Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia or diplomas to prepare them for the future.
“There are 47 actions that must be implemented to digitalise the whole state. While the direction is set, the second step is to train those involved for they will become a strong resource for the state,” he said.
“The Centre of Technical Excellence (Centex) collaborates with top technology company from China Huawei to supply talent for digital infrastructure and management. I emphasise on agriculture because rural areas are based on agriculture.”
An increase of income must go together with skills, he added, so the government wants to emphasise on skills to transform rural areas.
“We want to use a better approach in our plans on development for Sarawak. It will take time but hopefully in these few years, we can expand the Internet connectivity to every part of the rural areas in Sarawak,” he said.
On why digital economy is the way forward, Abang Johari cited the example of a normal train moving at 80km per hour and a bullet train at 320 km per hour.
“Certainly taking the bullet train will allow us to reach our destination way faster,” he said.
“Looking at the global trends and the fact that we cannot avoid Industrial Revolution 4.0, so like it or not, we must embrace digital technology to leapfrog Sarawak’s economy.”
He added that the digital economy environment was created 20 years ago, but could not be implemented without up-to-date devices.
“But now, the devices are available that enable the digital economy and that’s why I have decided to use technology to develop Sarawak in all sectors and industries including agriculture, tourism and so on,” he said.
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