State to ink memorandum with Huawei on training

To me it is a good Bill to carry us forward and to propel us into digital economy, and to transform the state in line with the vision of our Chief Minister. Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh, Minister of International Trade and E-Commerce

KUCHING: The state government is expected to sign a memorandum with Chinese telecommunications company Huawei tomorrow for training of personnel for the Sarawak Multimedia Company.

Minister of International Trade and E- Commerce Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh said the state government will be represented at the signing ceremony by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.

“It is still premature to comment on security data, but rest assured the state government will ensure the data of its people will be well protected in accordance with the law of the country,” he said during the third reading of the Sarawak Multimedia Authority ( SMA) Bill 2017 at the august House yesterday.

He was responding to Irene Chang ( DAP - Bukit Assek) who had raised concerns on data security.

Wong also ticked off Chong Chieng Jen ( DAP - Kota Sentosa) for politicising the SMA Bill 2017.

“To me it is a good Bill to carry us forward and to propel us into digital economy, and to transform the state in line with the vision of our Chief Minister,” he said.

He also said the Bill’s primary objective is to establish a body that would enable the government to achieve its mission of transforming the state to digital economy which will spur economic growth by adopting better means of business processes through systems such as e– payment via Sarawak Pay and e- commence.

“Central to the attainment of the objectives of this transformation mission is to ensure that our telecommunication networks, system capacity and infrastructure are not only adequate and have a state-wide coverage but also they use the most advanced technologies in terms of speed, reliability and quality,” he said.

A total 14 assembly persons debated the Bill prior to the third reading.

They included Irene Chang ( DAP-Bukit Assek), Dr Johnical Rayong ( BN- Engkilili), Chong Chieng Jen ( DAP-Kota Sentosa), See Chee How (PKR-Batu Lintang), Jefferson Jamit (BN-Bukit Goram), Simoi Peri ( BN-Lingga), Lo Khere Chiang ( BN-Batu Kitang), Abdul Yakub Arbi (BN-Balingian), Datuk Seri Huang Tiong Sii ( BN-Repok), Chiew Chiu Sing ( DAP-Tanjung Batu) and Datuk Sebastian Ting ( BN-Piasau).