Wong (fourth right) presents a souvenir to Eason Liu. On the left is Dato Andrew Wong of UPP.
SIBU: E-commerce centres will be built in Kuching, Sibu and Miri to train entrepreneurs in e-commerce skills and promote the technology, International Trade and E-commerce Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh said.
Speaking at an e-commerce forum hosted by UPP Sibu Development Committee on Saturday at UCTS, he said the centres would be built by his ministry in tandem with the state’s move towards digital economy.
For Sibu, the training programme would be in line with UPP’s five-year plan (Rancangan Sibu 1), he added.
“In Sibu, the attitude of the young people towards this is positive and they are willing to work with the government.”
He admitted that more was needed to improve the internet facilities in Sarawak to enable the state to leapfrog to digital economy, which is the trend in this globalised world.
“The government will pump in RM1 billion for this, but this fund has to be used to build the internet link to the rural areas first.”
He said the people from rural areas could use e-commerce to sell their produce like pepper, fruits, handicraft and others to a wider market. The forum on Saturday was conducted by Eason Liu, country manager of Alibaba.com.