KUCHING: Amendments to the Land Code will enable Sarawak to control and regulate its spectrum, said Chieng Jin Ek (Bukit Assek-GPS).
He said all telecommunication companies using the state’s spectrum would need to get approval from Sarawak and pay levies or licence fees to Sarawak .
Spectrum has to do with the invisible radio frequencies that wireless signal travels on, he said.
At the moment, MCMC has the rights to issue spectrum licences to telcos such as Maxis, Celcom, DiGi and Telecom.
“It is unfair to Sarawak, and it the time now for Sarawak to have our share,” he said in his debate speech in support of the Land Code (Amendment) Bill 2022 in the legislative assembly on Wednesday.
He said the amendment not only provides for a more comprehensive definition of land and a new definition of carbon storage and spectrum, it also provides the Sarawak government with the rights to control and regulate land and air space including spectrum above land in Sarawak.
“And makes provisions for regulating the use of land both onshore and in the Continental Shelf of Sarawak for the storage of carbon dioxide by oil and gas companies operating in Sarawak as part of the global strategy for the reduction of emission of carbon dioxide under the Paris Agreement on climate change, which was adopted in year 2015,” he added.
“With the amendment, the government can seek extra income, increase job opportunities, and fight climate change for the benefit of people and the world,” he added.
