‘CM’s initiatives catalysts for high-income society’
MIRI: The eight initiatives recently outlined by Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg will act as catalysts to propel Sarawak towards achieving a high-income society.
Assistant Minister of Tourism Datuk Lee Kim Shin who is also Assistant Minister of Land and Air Transportation and Safety said he fully supported the initiatives as they would enable Sarawak to make a quantum leap towards a digital economy.
“There is an urgent need to look into some successful models for developing ICT talents and technopreneurs in other parts of the world which Sarawak could emulate,” he said.
Lee said the Chief Minister was spot on in emphasising the need to provide world- class information technology infrastructure equipped with super high speed broadband facilities, saying it is imperative in order to provide seamless digital connectivity along the state information superhighway and with the rest of the world.
State investment
There is an urgent need to look into some successful models for developing ICT talents and technopreneurs in other parts of the world which Sarawak could emulate.
in such facilities is essential in order to attract foreign investments and talents, especially in ICT, to come to Sarawak and reverse the brain drain.
“There are quite a number of Sarawakian talents working overseas. The availability of a conducive ICT environment will be an impetus for them to return to Sarawak and at the same time hopefully, also attract foreign talents and entrepreneurs to move to Sarawak,” he said.
Apart from having world- class ICT infrastructure, the state must gear towards producing more young talent and entrepreneurs to leapfrog towards a digital economy.
Establishing the Development Bank of Sarawak is one of the Chief Minister’s eight initiatives that the state government has come up with following the two- day International ICT Infrastructure and Digital Economy Conference Sarawak ( Idecs) 2017.
The others include setting up the Sarawak Multimedia Authority to regulate ICT development infrastructure and technology utilisation as well as set up the Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation to coordinate all digital economy initiatives.
The other action plans include boosting the speed of Internet and telecommunications infrastructure, setting up of a digital village, promote e-learning, making Sarawak as a place of hosting data centres, establishing laboratories and workshops to chart roadmaps for Sarawak to realise the digital economy and organise another Idecs.
Abang Johari wants this to be undertaken immediately to accelerate Sarawak’s catch-up plan in order to develop further for the state and the people.
Neighbouring Sabah has its own Sabah Development Bank which acts as the fi nancial intermediary for the state government of Sabah and its agencies, where its essential involvement has been in the development of infrastructure and public projects such as the construction of roads, bridges, low-cost houses, water supply lines and port extension projects.
It provides a range of fi nancial and non- financial services in order to foster strong and healthy corporate participation in the growth of the economy, both in Sabah and the rest of Malaysia, apart from encouraging entrepreneurial and corporate development to provide economic dynamism and growth, particularly in Sabah.
Datuk Lee Kim Shin, Assistant Minister of Tourism