KUCHING, Oct 4 — Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg today said that efforts are underway to ensure the internet speed in the state increases under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) from 2021-2025.
“Within the five years under 12MP, we will invest, through the Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) and related state government agencies, to upgrade the standard of internet speed to 5G,” he said at the opening of the inaugural Borneo International Drone and Robotics Explore 2019 at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here.
He said once the 5G internet speed is achieved, the state government will create two gateways to link Sarawak with Asian countries, the United States and Europe.
He said the first gateway will be at Kuching which will be linked to Lawas in Limbang Division by using undersea cables.
He said Lawas will be linked to Hong Kong, then the United States and Europe.
Abang Johari said the state-owned Centre of Technical Excellence will be working with Huawei Technology Company of China to lay the undersea cables from Kuching to Lawas.
He said the second gateway will be at Miri, adding that the state government is working with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) in Brunei to enable Sarawak to link with other Asian countries, including Hong Kong, then to the United States and Europe.
“These links are to enable us to market our products worldwide,” he said, adding that the state targets to be a net exporter of agriculture and food products by the year 2030.
He said the plans can only be carried out if the present Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) is still in power after the coming state election.
“We will implement these plans and I, as the chief minister, will continue to stress on the use of technology in our efforts to increase the income of the people and to strengthen our economy,” he said.
