BY NATASHA JEE and ALEXANDRA LORNA
THANKS to the widespread availability of the internet, it is not only bringing convenience to people’s lives – from communication, surfing the net, and online shopping to everything being just a click away – it also enables individuals to generate extra income by creating content for social media platforms.
One individual who has benefited from this digital shift is Abun Bilun.
Once an offshore oil and gas worker, he made the transition to becoming a full-time YouTube content creator in 2019.
Gaining recognition for his cooking videos, particularly focusing on exotic and Dayak cuisine, this 36-year-old father from Kampung Nanga Tada Kanowit has been generating a substantial monthly income of around RM5,000.
Abun now has 211,000 subscribers on YouTube.
“I enjoy cooking and decided to share my cooking videos on YouTube. I never expected it to attract so many viewers.
“From there, it prompted me to create and upload more videos on my YouTube channel, allowing me to earn revenue based on the views, which is counted in USD,” he told New Sarawak Tribune in an interview.
However, he said producing videos comes with its own challenges, primarily the need for reliable internet connectivity.
“While I face no major issues making and uploading videos from my residence in Johor due to stable internet connections, things change when I return to my village.
“There, the weaker internet connectivity makes uploading videos on YouTube quite difficult.
“Hence, I have to get out of my village and head to town areas to seek better connectivity for video uploads,” he said.
Therefore, he expressed his hope that the government and telecommunications companies can collaborate to offer robust internet connectivity, particularly for those residing in rural areas.
“Although the government erects telecommunication towers in rural areas, their effectiveness depends on telecommunication companies actively providing services,” he said.
As the Sarawak YouTuber Association chairman, Abun stressed that a reliable internet is vital not only for content creators like himself but also for rural educators and students.
“Furthermore, people from rural communities can even engage in live streaming on platforms like TikTok to earn additional income,” he said.
In addition, he said improved internet connectivity would enable rural communities to market their products online.
Addressing aspiring content creators, he encouraged them to embrace innovation and conduct research to understand the types of content that resonate with viewers.
Taking advantage of internet and technology
Apart from Abun capitalising on the internet’s advantages, a female graduate from the interior of Sarawak has also harnessed the power of technology to generate income.
With her talent and creativity, Lim Sie Hui has opted for a career as a software developer.
Hailing from a village in Long Lama, the 31-year-old attained her bachelor’s degree in computer science with a specialisation in multimedia from Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) back in 2017.
Since last year, benefiting from a stable internet connection in her village, Lim has been able to follow her passion and establish herself as a professional software developer, all from the comfort of her home.
Lim’s journey into software development began with a personal interest in gaming and a desire to turn her skills into a source of income.
“I’ve enjoyed playing computer games since secondary school and have always been fascinated by all things related to computers.
“Through this interest, I honed my programming skills and fostered a curiosity about how computer software and games function,” she said.
She also questioned the mechanics behind software that enables users to accomplish so much with a simple mouse click.
“Another factor is my late father’s influence. My siblings and I were introduced to computers from a young age,” she said.
After graduating, Lim wasted no time and delved into her career by developing applications tailored to people’s needs and requests.
Her cousin extended an invitation in 2022 for her to join his developer studio as a software developer.
“Before joining the studio, I personally have developed several phone applications for university professors for educational purposes.
“After that, I have developed a smartphone based Virtual Reality Education application for medical training purposes.
“By using the application, the students can learn about the process and procedure to carry out experiments in the laboratory,” she said.
Not stopping at developing mobile applications, Lim also disclosed her ongoing endeavour of developing a mobile game.
“It is a game with Chinese cultivation background. We have already developed a mobile game called ‘Hero Scroll’ that has been released on TapTap platform.
“Unfortunately, it can only be released in China. In the future, the game might be released in Google Playstore,” she said.
She said her collaboration with her cousin, who is a developer himself and a project manager from China is proof there is no barrier for women to work in such a field.
“I am truly thankful that my family is supportive and understands my chosen career path,” she added.
Overcoming stereotyping within her community, Lim asserted that women should bravely confront and take up challenges in the software field.
“Let it be known that women are fully capable of excelling in programming and software development,” she said.
How the internet and technology has helped the community
She said the presence of the internet and the availability of technology plays a very important role within the community in Long Lama.
“For instance, the Sarawak government has helped to transform the Long Lama Library to Digital Community Centre (DCC), and it does provide the service of computer usage to the community,” she said.
She said most of the children and young adults in Long Lama have access to computer services at the Long Lama Library.
“It is also good to see there are programmes like the Digitalising Long Lama Grassroots Community 2023 that was held at the library in June this year.
“This programme helps the community understand the benefits and importance of digital and how they could utilise technology today in their business, agriculture, education and many more,” she said.
Thus, she said computer usage profoundly benefits her community in various ways.
On other challenges that need to be resolved, she said Long Lama does not have a bank and there are merchants who need to pay for or buy things from places outside Long Lama.
“Besides that, laying fibre optic cables in rural regions poses challenges. Fortunately, Long Lama has managed to connect the cable from a nearby town, enabling the installation of internet fibre,” she said.
She added not every household has installed home fibre, leading some residents to rely on mobile data.
“The issue they are facing now is that sometimes the line service they are using might not have coverage for up to one or two days,” she said.
Additionally, she said the main challenge is that no electronic shop can be found in Long Lama including smartphone shop or computer shop.
“When computers or mobile devices are in need of repair or maintenance, traveling to Miri or buying online are the two options we have to get the service we need.
“Therefore, I hope this issue can be solved or improved for the benefit of the community,” she said.
More to shift towards technology-based jobs
Lim’s cousin, Vun Yean Onn, also a full-time software developer based in Long Lama also said everyone must have access to the internet be it in the urban or rural areas.
“The cheapest way to obtain information is through the internet. Malaysia is economically capable of achieving network coverage throughout Malaysia.
“Therefore, providing comprehensive coverage will not only allow the whole of Malaysia get more benefits from fully utilising the internet, but also enable better services in the suburbs,” he said.
He said in this day and age, everyone has a mobile phone, and as long as the government ensures the network facilities are in place, we can all benefit greatly.
“We can’t fall back on people (numbers) to see whether the internet is needed, but look at it from the perspective of the industry.
“There are many industries in the suburbs. The ministries of mining, agriculture, and even forestry are based in these areas. Having a good network speed can increase their productivity.
“What’s more, there are residents here who use the internet. You ask me how good? I don’t think there’s anything that costs less and impacts people more broadly than providing a better internet environment,” he said.
He also holds the view that in the future, the software developer’s job will be in big demand.
“Especially with the development of the global network, people’s demand for software will become more fragmented, prompting more customised application requirements.
“And if the market demand cannot be met, these orders will be absorbed abroad.
“As far as the current game industry is concerned, in fact, we can also export our own games. But the fact is we’re consuming tons of foreign games,” he said.
He also said nowadays there are a lot of foreign programmers with some of them being women.
“I don’t think it’s a bad thing for women to be programmers, especially since this job enables remote work more than others,” said Vun.
