Abang Johari presents a memento to Reinart. From front right are Len Talif, Dr Chan, Morshidi, Awang Tengah, and Olbery.
TALLINN, Estonia: Estonia would be a good model for Sarawak’s statewide multimedia and communication infrastructure development as part of the overall plan to digitise the state’s economy, said Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.
Abang Johari, who was on his first day of a study visit to Estonia on Wednesday, said the Baltic country’s model offered a workable solution for Sarawak in order to be able to provide fast Internet speeds and penetration crucial for the development of a digital economy.
He made these comments after visiting the Estonia e-Government Academy (eGA) here, where he and his delegation were briefed on various aspects of Estonian e-government initiatives.
Of particular interest to the Chief Minister was the service made available by three main service providers, which is supported by at least 23 smaller localised providers found throughout Estonia, that triggered the country’s drastic rise as a digital economic power in the European Union.
Abang Johari said another aspect worth considering is provision of underground fibre optic network ducts along public roads in Estonia, which made 4G internet services easily available in all parts of the country where more businesses of all sizes are migrating to the digital transaction platform.
Later, the Chief Minister, accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan; State Secretary Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Morshidi Abdul Ghani; Assistant Minister of Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Datu Len Talif Salleh; and Malaysian Ambassador to Finland Puan Sri Blanche Olbery paid a courtesy call on Estonia’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Vaino Reinart.
In his return address to Reinart, Abang Johari said his visit to eGA had aroused the state government’s interest to collaborate with Estonia in many areas vital for the transformation of Sarawak into a digital economy.
He said he was particularly impressed with Estonia’s e-payment system, which has permeated into most aspects of the country’s commercial, business and public service transactions.
“We hope we can collaborate with Estonia in developing a similar to-be-launched e-payment platform in Sarawak called Sarawakpay,” said Abang Johari.
He also expressed the state’s interest to cooperate with Estonia on research and development leveraging on its vast wealth in biodiversity.
Also in the delegation were Sarawak Information System (Sains) chairman Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam and Honorary Consul of Estonia in Malaysia, Col Datuk Harbans Singh.
Abang Johari also hosted a dinner in honour of the chairman of the Estonia-South Asia Parliamentary Group Coordinator Valdo Randpere.