SUCCESSFUL APPLICANT: Yong (left) presenting Jackson Lee with the 1Malaysia netbook while SUPP deputy chairman (women’s section) Chang Chun Boi (second left), youth chairman Bong Jian Huan (second right) and youth secretary Nixon Lee Kwang Hai look on.
KUCHING: Recipients of the 1Malaysia netbook under the Malaysia Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) are advised to make full use of the laptops distributed to them by the government.
“The government has spent millions of ringgit on the netbooks to help recipients especially students master information, communication and technology (ICT) and we hope that those who received them will fully utilise the netbooks and not abuse this National Broadband Initiative (NBI),” said Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Kuching branch chairperson Datuk Lily Yong.
Yong was on hand to distribute the netbooks to students from families with an income of less than RM3,000 a month at SUPP Kuching branch here yesterday.
“Don’t apply just for the sake of obtaining a free netbook and once you have it in your hands, it is chucked to a corner,” said Yong.
“It is important to be IT savvy to stay ahead in today’s high-tech world and with the distributions of the netbooks, this can help the students’ master ICT knowledge and also assist them in their academic performance,” she stressed.
According to Yong who is also SUPP vice president, a total of 150 had applied for the netbooks but only 124 of them were approved.
“For the remaining 26 applicants who did not get their applications approved, we will reapply for them again so that they can benefit from this initiative,” she said.
Meanwhile, Yong told The Borneo Post that the 1Malaysia concept has become commercialised and the federal government should look into addressing the situation.
“Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is trying his best to build the country into a highly-developed nation with this great concept of 1Malaysia but these days it has become gimmicky.
“It seems that everyone is trying to jump on the bandwagon and it appears that this has defeated the objective and purpose the 1Malaysia concept was intended for, which is to unite the people of Malaysia together,” said Yong.
She pointed out that the government should look into this so that the 1Malaysia philosophy will not be abused and is properly utilised.