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Fed agencies urged to learn best practices in SMA

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KUCHING: Sarawak Federal secretary Datuk Amir Omar has advised all federal agencies in the state to learn from Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) its best practices in the areas of the Internet of Things (IoT) and digital economy.

Speaking during the federal agencies’ benchmarking visit to SMA yesterday (Nov 30), Amir said these best practices could help the agencies to improve their service delivery systems.

“One of SMA’s latest initiatives was the Kuching Smart City Masterplan (KSCMP) which was launched by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg earlier this year which was in line with the 12th Malaysia Plan (12 MP) and the Sarawak Economic Action Council (SEAC).

“The project involved 14 government agencies and a total of 1,236 public respondents during the preparation period of 10 months,” he said.

Amir added that the Sarawak Telecommunications Secretariat co-chaired by SMA, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the Sarawak government had also presented to the chief minister the progress of communications infrastructure projects such as the Sarawak Multimedia Authority Rural Telecommunications (SMART) and the National Digital Network Plan (Jendela).

“These include mobile broadband, satellite broadband, high-speed broadband and fixed wireless access (FWA).

“To date, the high-speed internet covers 65 of the 82 state constituencies,” he said, adding that 1,312 federal government departments and agencies throughout the state were now using the Integrated Telecommunication Network (MyGov*Net) which was managed by the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation Management Planning Unit (Mampu).

Amir also praised SMA for providing an online payment platform such as S Pay Global or better known as Sarawak Pay.

“S Pay Global was launched by the Sarawak government through SMA to drive the Sarawak economy through digital economy initiatives as well as to encourage cashless consumption in the state.

“This initiative is a step forward in facilitating payment transactions, especially in the Covid-19 pandemic situation,” he said.

Amir pointed out that during the current Covid-19 pandemic, the process of entering Sarawak had been very challenging.

“The Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) has prepared strict and comprehensive guidelines on entry procedures into Sarawak.

“And to support the SDMC’s efforts in curbing the spread of Covid-19 pandemic in Sarawak, SMA introduced a digital surveillance solution via QR-coded wristband for anyone entering Sarawak as well as person-under-investigation (PUI) and anyone ordered for self-quarantine.

“SMA also developed a mobile application called i-Alerts to inform the people of Sarawak about the latest situation of Covid-19 in the state.

“Apart from that, this application also provides current updates on the rabies epidemic in Sarawak. This is very helpful in ensuring efficient and up-to-date distribution of information to the people of Sarawak,” he added.

The federal agencies’ benchmarking visit to the SMA office was participated by members of the Sarawak Federal Innovation Steering Committee (JKPI) consisting of various heads of departments and representatives from the federal agencies in the state.

“For your information, JKPI is a significant platform in identifying the level of implementation and efforts towards improving the government’s service delivery system to ensure that the federal public service in Sarawak remains relevant in line with the expectations of customers and stakeholders,” said Amir.

Meanwhile, SMA general manager Dr Zaidi Razak gave a comprehensive briefing on SMA’s roles and functions to the delegates.

Among those accompanying Amir were State Police Commissioner Datuk Aidi Ismail and heads of various federal departments and agencies.

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