LIMBANG: The government remains committed in its efforts to improve communication facilities and further expand internet coverage in Sarawak.
According to a report by the Sarawak Public Communications Unit (Ukas) on Tuesday (Sept 21), Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said the federal and Sarawak governments had provided a substantial allocation for this purpose.
“The federal government through the National Digital Infrastructure Plan (Jendela) has provided a very large allocation for Sarawak. For us in Sarawak, our chief minister has already allocated RM2bil for telecommunication facilities.
“The Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) and Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC) have plans and programmes to further improve our internet connectivity be it in the urban areas, suburbs, or the rural areas.”
He said this when speaking at ceremony on Handing Over of Raspberry Pi Computers to Primary Schools in Limbang District on Sunday (Sept 19).
Although projects to upgrade communication facilities have experienced delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic, they will be resumed as soon as circumstances permit.
On the handover programme, Awang Tengah, who is also Bukit Sari assemblyman, thanked the Sarawak Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Research (MESTR) for supplying these computers to 35 primary schools in Limbang District.
He said the Sarawak government had allocated RM12mil for this programme which would entail distributions to all primary schools in Sarawak.
“In facing the Covid-19 pandemic, the need to master Information Technology and the digital platform is clearly very important not only in the education and skills sectors but also in other sectors.
“We are sad to see our children and even teachers worry during the current pandemic, with schools opening and closing intermittently and a lot of their time wasted.
“In such a situation, we try to adjust how the learning process can be implemented and many have adapted to using the online platform.”
The ceremony also saw the symbolic presentation of school uniform assistance vouchers worth RM200 each of 900 vouchers with a total value of RM180,000 from Yayasan Sarawak for 40 schools in Limbang District.
There was also the handover of Minor Rural Project grants to government department welfare, sports, and social clubs as well as seven Parent Teacher Associations in Limbang District.
