KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 ― Malaysia’s “vulnerable” rural communities must not be neglected in the country’s aim to become a digital hub in the region, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said today.

The deputy prime minister cautioned that failure to ensure sufficient access to the Internet in all areas of the country risked exacerbating the inequality that already exists between cities and villages.

“While the urban populations are gearing up towards smart cities and that the urban lifestyles are increasingly becoming more digital, rural communities and those who have yet to be connected or who are less connected than others, stand to be left further behind if this digital disparity between the rural and the urban is not addressed accordingly,” he said during his speech at the KL Converge! opening ceremony at the KL Convention Centre.

Putrajaya targets a national broadband penetration rate of 75 per cent by next year.

The deputy prime minister said this was currently at 68 per cent, up from only 11 per cent in 2006.

Later in his speech, Muhyiddin said Malaysia’s export of creative content is expected to reach about RM600 million this year, up from RM565 million in 2013 and RM200 million in 2010.