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By Karen Bong
KUCHING, July 9: The Sarawak government has the speediest approval process for site or land use in Malaysia, including for digital infrastructure.
Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC) chief executive officer (CEO) Sudarnoto Osman emphasised that site approvals for National Digital Network (Jendela) and Sarawak Linking Urban, Rural and Nation (Saluran) projects for setting up telecommunication towers in Sarawak are progressing exceptionally fast.
“Kudos to the government for understanding the importance of the issue (expediting the processes).
“However, there will, of course, be issues on the ground, such as land acquisition, which will take a bit of time due to the need to obtain landowners’ approval. But as far as government’s approval is concerned, it is very fast nowadays,” he said.
He highlighted this on behalf of the Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, during the ‘Sunday Morning with Premier 2.0: Dialogue Session with Young Entrepreneurs on New Economy’ dialogue session held at Imperial Hotel today.
Sudarnoto was responding to a question by Joshua Lai of Wagro Trading (Kuching) Sdn Bhd, a company involved in agriculture, including oil palm, who suggested that the government consider leveraging online systems like the eCX by Sarawak Energy to expedite processes for submissions and applications involving various public and private projects.
The eCX system is an all-in-one platform which can be assessed by staff, consultants, contractors, and the public for various submissions and applications.
Lai also raised about the insufficient network connectivity throughout Sarawak, which is crucial to achieving widespread digitalisation and high-technology adoption in the agriculture sector.
He added that the processes to set up telecommunication towers or relevant digital infrastructure are tedious due to the need to go through several bodies, including the Land and Survey Department, for land use.
Sudarnoto pointed out that Sarawak aims to achieve 94 per cent network coverage of populated areas with a minimum 4G network by 2024, in alignment with the Jendela project by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the Saluran project by the Sarawak government.
“As technology evolves, the focus shifts from 3G to 4G development in rural areas and 5G in urban and industrial areas. That’s the plan for the next few years.
“To accelerate the growth of telecommunication, we have intervened in the projects normally under Federal purview or MCMC in line with Sarawak’s digital and new economy initiatives,” he said.
As for the remaining six per cent, mainly involving the interior areas, Sudarnoto added that they will be connected through initiatives utilising satellites, high-altitude platform stations and other initiatives spearheaded by the Sarawak government.
Organised by DayakDaily and Pertubuhan Wartawan Bebas Kuching (Pewarta), with the support of the Sarawak government, the dialogue was attended by some 130 young entrepreneurs as well as top government officials and heads of departments.
Minister of Sports, Youth and Entrepreneur Development Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, Tebedu assemblyman Dr Simon Sinang Bada, Deputy Secretary (Economic and Development Planning) Datu Dr Muhammad Abdullah Zaidel and Sarawak Economic Planning Unit (EPU) director Lester Matthew were among those present. — DayakDaily
