Sarawak TELCO Company - Apa Cerita Sekarang?
‘In Sarawak (as we heads) towards a digital economy, our roles will be based on merit. Whoever has the qualification and the latest knowledge in the new era they will be there. Times are changing and men have to acknowledge that’ …..quote CM Abang Johari
Let us talk about empowering Sarawakians with the skills and knowledge to survive and to thrive in a digital economy. The digital economy era has already begun and the signs and portents that we can see quite clearly now in Sarawak is worrisome. Thriving in a digital economy within the limited scope of this article simply means to be successful in the jobs of the future, either as an employee or as a business owner.
Empowering people would mean, among others, giving them the skills to navigate and use I.T tools, equipment and applications, give them access to internet connectivity, making sure people have access to reasonably priced I.T tools and implement like computers and other smart devices and to telco internet services.
One of the biggest and most serious issue Sarawak is facing in the march to fully embrace the IR.4 and the digital economy is internet connectivity. A 2019 report by opensignal.com shows that the digital divide between the urban and the sparsely populated rural areas in Malaysia, particularly in Sarawak, still require considerable efforts by the state government before the rural population can be place on equal footing with their urban counterparts.
Opensignal.com is an independent global standard for understanding the true state of the world’s mobile networks based on measurements of real user experience.
This digital gap between the urban communities and the rural communities will impact greatly on the ability of the rural communities to uplift their living standard in a digital economy (which does not wait for anybody) and on the education of rural based children which in turn will affect their ability to effectively compete for jobs of the future and for business opportunities in a digital environment. Without a doubt the future is there for those who are able to command technology while those who are ignorant of technology will be left behind.
And so there was a collective sigh of relief from Sarawakians when in mid-May 2020 CM Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari announced that the MCMC had agreed to grant Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) a telco license to enable the Sarawak GPS government to provide internet services to the rural areas. He said he met the minister in charge of the MCMC and he (the minister) had agreed to grant Sarawak the license. The last time Abang Johari spoke on this matter was on the 20th Nov 2020. He said the government was working to set up a telco company within the next 2 years so as to be able to provide internet services to the rural areas of Sarawak.
https://www.newsarawaktribune.com.my/sma-to-operate-rural-internet-services/
https://themalaysianreserve.com/2020/11/20/sarawak-plans-to-have-its-own-telco-in-two-years-time/
It is now about 9 months since Abang Johari first mentioned the telco license and spoke about wanting to provide internet services to the rural areas. Stakeholders in the education sector and in the rural communities and are anxiously waiting news about the latest developments on the telco license and the telco company that will provide internet services to the rural areas.
With this in mind, it will bring great relief and comfort to all the stakeholders in Sarawak, particularly the rural communities if CM Abang Johari can give updates on what has transpired after the he last spoke on the matter in Nov 2020. Top leaders of the GPS government like DCM Tan Sri James Masing vehemently objected when Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) voluntarily installed broadband services in 5 rural schools in Kapit in order to bring relief to the teachers and students in those schools but he could not present a viable alternative.
https://www.newsarawaktribune.com.my/installation-of-broadband-services-in-schools-needs-permission/
No comments:
Post a Comment