KUCHING, Mar 30: Sacofa Sdn Bhd (Sacofa) yesterday entered into definitive agreements with Peninsular-based MSA Resources Sdn Bhd (MSAR) to form a strategic alliance and jointly undertake key infrastructure projects in Peninsular Malaysia.
Sacofa and MSAR in a joint statement said both parties aim to strengthen Malaysia’s digital telecommunications infrastructure and support the national telecommunications roadmap as outlined by the federal government’s initiatives of Jalinan Digital Negara (Jendela) and MyDigital.
Sacofa said its initial acquisition of 30 per cent share of MSAR will eventually be raised to 50 per cent.
The move will enable the two companies to form a strategic alliance and jointly undertake key telecommunications infrastructure projects in Peninsular Malaysia while also focusing on extending and enhancing broadband connectivity to neighbouring Southeast Asia (Asean) countries such as Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and Brunei.
Meanwhile, MSAR managing director Saiful Husni Samak in a statement said, “MSAR is delighted to welcome Sacofa as our newest shareholder.
“Our aligned vision to turn MSAR into a telecommunications infrastructure powerhouse will be greatly served by Sacofa’s experience and expertise.
“We are currently building our new fibre optic network which stretches from Johor Bahru to Bukit Kayu Hitam, and at 1,063km is one of the longest fibre optic network constructions currently being carried out in Peninsular Malaysia.
“Now, with Sacofa onboard, we will be better positioned to roll out mobile infrastructure services such as towers and poles for 5G along all major highways in Peninsular Malaysia. This new low latency network will serve as a platform for the adoption of future technologies along the highways such as Internet of Things (IoT), smart highways, autonomous vehicles and more.
“We aim to be a strong partner to the government and will be providing fibre pairs to the Malaysian Highway Authority, all highway concessionaires, the Malaysian Armed Forces, the Royal Malaysian Police Force (PDRM) and the Ministry of Health for use by all hospitals absolutely free of charge,” he said.
At the same time, Sacofa’s managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) Mohamed Zaid Zaini remarked, “Sacofa over the past 20 years has been focused on building and further upgrading telecommunications infrastructure in Sarawak. This in line with the Federal and State Governments’ initiatives, particularly Jendela spearheaded by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the Digital Economy Strategy 2018-2022 initiated by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg to leapfrog the economy of Sarawak via the digital economy to become a high income state.
“We are also actively enhancing inter-connectivity to link Sarawak to the world. One of our corporate missions is ‘To expand beyond Sarawak’ which we have been striving to achieve and build over the past few years,” he said.
Mohamed Zaid believed the definitive agreements with MSAR will certainly add to Sacofa’s mission of extending its operations beyond Sarawak and more importantly link East Malaysia to West Malaysia on many levels.
“We are confident that this event will allow both MSAR and Sacofa to work with federal and state governments to ensure that we increase the broadband penetration rate and narrow the digital divide while building the foundation upon which upcoming technology platforms such as 5G and Industry Revolution 4.0 may be implemented, in line with ongoing government initiatives and undertakings by public-private partnerships,” he added.
In the meantime, the definitive agreements were signed virtually by Saiful Husni, MSAR’s deputy chairman Mohd Sofian Mohd Arshad, MSAR’s corporate affairs and business development head Razlan Joffri Mohd Radzi representing MSAR while Sacofa was represented by Mohamed Zaid and Sacofa’s vice president of corporate strategy and general counsel Ainor Khaliq Anuarudin.
Witnessing the virtual signing ceremony were MSAR chairman Senator Tan Sri Mohd Radzi Tan Sri Sheikh Ahmad and Sacofa’s deputy chairman Dato Isaac Lugun along with directors and senior management figures of MSAR and Sacofa. — DayakDaily
