KUCHING, Sept 1: In conjunction with this year’s Awal Muharram or Maal Hijrah celebration, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan has advised Sarawak Muslims not to be influenced by terrorist ideologies exerted by extremist groups such as ISIS and Daesh and other heretic Islamic teachings.
He said Sarawakian Muslims must realise that although there is good to be brought about by the fast-paced advancement of the internet and technology, there are those abusing it and lurking about in the cyber world.
As such, he advised Sarawakian Muslims to be able to think critically when encountering the negative elements of IoT, and always be steadfast to the teachings of Islam.
“We do not want to be caught up by extreme and over-liberal ideologies, such as threats from the Islamic State (ISIS) and Daesh terror groups, and other heresy that would bring about destruction,” said Awang Tengah.
In face of technological advancement, he called on Sarawakians to embrace ‘Hijah’ mentality.
“In face of our state’s development today, I have always stressed on the importance of transformation. The development of digital economy today demands this self transformation or ‘self Hijrah’ mentally and physically so that we would not be left behind.
“Nowadays one of the most heard of technology terms is ‘Smart’ – smart city, smart farming, smart parking, smart metering for water and electricity supplies, and smart surveillance and security for Industrial Revolution 4.0, smart Learning and so on – have been implemented in several developed nations,” Awang Tengah was speaking during the State Level Maal Hijrah Celebration at Sri Aman Civic Centre this morning.
He was representing Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg. Also present were Head of State, Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud.
Awang Tengah said while few in Sarawak have heard of these technological terms and subjects and how they would be adapted for the development of Sarawak, more technical terms have also been popping up such as 5G, internet of things (IoT) artificial intelligence (AI), virtual and augmented Reality (VR/AR), fintech, blockchain, big data, data analysis and robotics.
“Are all these terms to be our future? This is the future we have to face, and would need us to change or ‘Hijrah’ according to the teachings of Islam,” he said.
He added that the fast-paced technological advancement has been giving the picture that the world is now borderless, where knowledge around the world is just at the fingertips.
To regulate the fast-paced and enormous amount of knowledge coming through the advancement of Information and Computing Technology today, he said the state felt that there was a need to set up the Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) to prevent abuse as well as to uphold the cyber law and order. — DayakDaily
