DESPITE the recent signing of the Regional and Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with Asean Plus Three, Australia and New Zealand on Nov 15, Sabah is still relatively lagging behind in digital connectivity as compared to other Malaysian states as well as neighbouring countries.
This can be seen in the rural areas of Sabah where the villagers have to pull up mineral bottles containing mobile phones with their “hot spot” function switched on – obtaining minimal cellular signals via at least 10 metres high of bamboo poles.
The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated the difficulties among the rural students in accessing online learning materials when schools were closed during the movement control order (MCO) period and currently, the conditional MCO period.
Although rural entrepreneurs in Sabah were very keen in adopting digitalisation, they could not move forward due to unstable internet connection in their villages.
As there is insufficient digital infrastructure in the state, Sabah recorded 81.2 per 100 inhabitants for broadband penetration – lower than the national average of 127.4, in the first quarter of 2020, according to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
When the video of ‘Treetop Girl’ Veveonah taking an online examination in a treetop shelter in Pitas went viral, it has brought attention to the MCMC, local politicians and even Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Former Chief Minister of Sabah, Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak who is now the newly-elected legislator for Usukan expressed his concern by indicating the importance of tackling digital poverty in Sabah during the recent Sabah state assembly sitting.
He further explained digital poverty is a state of deprivation, especially in terms of information and communication technology (ICT) in the community, either due to the lack of ICT infrastructure or ICT skills.
Even though the person already has ICT devices such as a computer, smartphone and high-speed Internet, he or she could still be digitally poor due to lack of proficiency in using ICT.
He added the majority of the population in Sabah are too familiar with face-to-face meetings and has yet to embrace the new norms such as working from home and doing business online.
In order to resolve digital poverty in Sabah, the state government has to fulfil its Aku Janji Pledge and utilise the estimated allocation of RM2.45 bil National Digital Network Initiative (Jendela) project to transform Sabah’s digital infrastructure under the 12th Malaysia Plan (2021-2025).
Following are the initiatives promised under the current administration:
In addition, the government did introduce some initiatives under Budget 2021 to boost the digitalisation of the country are as follows:
However, the effectiveness of these initiatives is still unclear for Sabahans. Therefore, the state government needs to utilise its newly established Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry that replaced the Education and Innovation Ministry in the previous state administration to resolve the digital poverty in Sabah.
EMIR Research has several policy suggestions to the Sabah state government. These are:
By assembling incredible breadth of four industry trailblasers, it would strengthen the depth and breadth of MDEC’s expertise to benefit rural and urban needs while accelerating MDEC’s positioning as the ‘Heart of Digital Asean’, as championed by the chairman of MDEC, Datuk Wira Dr. Rais Hussin.
With a quantum leap of strategic investment in digital infrastructure, it would increase gross domestic product per capita, eradicate poverty, create new jobs, enable capacity building and upskilling in the state – making Sabah a developed state by 2030.
Moreover, by advocating digitalisation agenda in the state, Sabah would be able to utilise the economic advantage from RCEP and will be ready to create more business opportunities when Indonesia’s capital city relocates from Java to East Kalimantan by 2024. – Nov 30, 2020
Amanda Yeo is Research Analyst at EMIR Research, an independent think tank focused on strategic policy recommendations based on rigorous research
https://focusmalaysia.my/featured/resolving-digital-poverty-in-sabah-is-the-way-forward/
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