The Minister of Communications and Multimedia, Tan Sri Annuar Musa iterated that the general policy of the government is to ensure every citizen in Malaysia has internet access, even if the quality and experience of internet service is dynamic and different.
As reported by national news agency Bernama, Annuar said that many Malaysians don’t understand the behaviour related to broadband services which is a dynamic situation. This behaviour includes the service being adequate at times but unsatisfactory in others.
The Communications Minister attended an Appreciation Ceremony for volunteers of ‘Operation Bantu Sampai Selesai (Ops Bahis) in Putrajaya yesterday and commented on the problem of internet speed in Sarawak after being asked by reporters regarding the experience of 19-year-old Frank Steward Panting Sa who had to hike up a hill for two hours for better internet reception in order to attend an online University-intake interview. Annuar asserted,
“It will not reach a point where everything is okay. The important thing is that we look at our policy, we say there must be connectivity even in longhouses in remote areas,”
Furthermore, Annuar further clarified that there are two methods of implementing internet service in Sarawak, which are:
- Through the Communications and Multimedia Ministry and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
- Through the Sarawak State Government agency under the Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) via the Sarawak LInking Urban Rural and Nation (SALURAN) initiative.
The Communications Minister said that upon checking, the youth’s longhouse internet service is under the SALURAN initiative which uses satellite technology and is capable of providing an average speed of 25 Mbps.
Furthermore, Annuar also claimed that even certain areas in Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur have blindspots and unstable internet due to the characteristic of broadband services.
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