KUCHING: The federal government will expedite internet connectivity in Sarawak, especially in the rural areas, said Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Answering questions during a townhall session at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) yesterday, he said initially the plan was to have 90 per cent of Sarawak covered by internet connectivity by 2024 or 2025.

“We can’t wait for Sarawak to have 90 per cent internet connectivity by the year 2025 because that is just too far away,” he added.

He said it is vital that Sarawak and the whole country have internet connectivity to spur the economy, citing the global Covid-19 pandemic as a lesson for everyone to know the importance of internet connectivity.

“When I visited Sabah recently I knew that there is a need to expedite internet connectivity there and also Sarawak as well because many people living in the rural areas of these two regions in the country have yet to enjoy such facility,” he added.

One of the ways that the federal government intended to expedite internet connectivity in Sarawak is to speed up the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDIGITAL), where 1,209 transmitter stations in the state will be upgraded to 4G.

“All these initiatives will be through commercial financing and I believe that is a big leap (because) we managed to expedite the process for the people of Sarawak,” he
said.

Apart from that, Muhyiddin also informed that Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had planned to provide broadband services via satellite to 523 locations by October.

In addition, he said more community internet centres will be built across the state while big international corporations are welcomed to contribute to the development of internet infrastructure in Sarawak.

In his speech earlier, Muhyiddin praised the Sarawak government for paying their part in building more internet infrastructure throughout the state in order to realise the state’s digital economy initiative.

Most recently, Malaysia resumed its plans on deploying the 5G network via its new national digital infrastructure plan; the Jalinan Digital Negara (Jendela), which aims to improve Malaysia’s digital connectivity whilst preparing the country for 5G technology.

This plan is further supported by the recently announced Digital Economy Blueprint; the MyDIGITAL plan which also emphasises on bringing forward the plan to roll out 5G technology from 2022 to the last quarter of 2021.

Bridging the digital divide among Malaysians — including between the urban and rural areas as well as between the new and older generations — is one of the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint’s major objectives.

Launched by Muhyiddin on Feb 19, the blueprint is expected to chart the growth trajectory of the country’s digital economy.