By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, July 3: Artificial intelligence (AI) education should begin as early as primary school, but without basic Internet access in many rural areas, such efforts may be in vain.
Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier’s Department (Corporate Affairs and UKAS) Datuk Abdullah Saidol revealed that a teacher attending the Sarawak Media Conference (SMEC) 2025 had appealed for school children to be exposed early to the principles of digital governance to help prepare the next generation for a fast-evolving future.
“Yesterday (July 2), a teacher asked me to deliver a message to YAB Premier (Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg) to consider starting AI awareness as early as primary school, teaching students about governance, compliance and the good and evil AI is capable of.
“But then again, Sarawak is the biggest State in Malaysia. Probably more than 50 per cent of our areas are still considered rural. We’ve already spent over RM3 billion on infrastructure, but there are still blind spots,” he said when speaking at the closing ceremony of SMEC 2025 held at Sheraton Hotel here today.
He relayed the frustrations of rural constituents who feel disconnected from conversations about digital transformation.
“One person told me, ‘YB, you don’t have to talk about AI to me. My area still don’t have Internet. The tower is there but it is not functioning’,” Abdullah said.
As such, he stressed that before policies like AI education can be rolled out meaningfully, the government must first address deeper issues including infrastructure, access and digital literacy.
Abdullah also raised a practical concern that often goes unnoticed in digital policy discussions, which is the economic cost of embracing new technologies like AI.
He shared feedback from media personnel who said that while AI tools do improve productivity, the out-of-pocket expenses to access them can be burdensome, especially when employers do not cover the cost.
“Some reporters told me, they had to download apps costing RM90 a month, another RM300 for this and that—and the company doesn’t pay for it. Yes, it helps with work, but employers need to realise that these extra costs add up,” he said.
He suggested that future conferences could benefit from research-based discussions on the actual financial impact of digital adoption—both on individuals and government agencies.
“Probably in the next seminars, we can invite someone who has done research on how much it actually costs for ordinary people and for the government to further embrace these fast-moving digital advancements.
“Every day, every month and almost every year, we see new things happening. But again, as one of the speakers pointed out, much of it depends on the narrative of the government’s policies,” he emphasised. — DayakDaily
