Abang Johari (second left) watching a demonstration by the exhibition participants at the ‘Big Day in Sarawak’ at the multi-purpose hall of Swinburne Sarawak in Kuching. Dr Annuar is on his right.
KUCHING: Institutions of higher learning in Sarawak are asked to help produce cyber security experts who can defend the state’s cyber system.
Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg said it is necessary to have these experts in line with the state government’s move to make Sarawak a cyber powerhouse.
“In other words, we need a lot of people who are experts in cyber security. And this is a new discipline.
“And I hope in the very near future, the higher learning institutions, especially Swinburne Sarawak, will have a programme to produce cyber security experts in order to defend our cyber system,” he said.
The Chief Minister was speaking at the launching of ‘Big Day in Sarawak’ and the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus and Australian Computer Society (ACS) at Swinburne Sarawak here yesterday.
“We have to have experts who can monitor and track any attack that comes into our system.
“We must be able to track whatever approaches other experts take so that we also know what they are doing.
“That means we must produce our cyber security experts in order to regulate the system of management in our digital economy,” he said.
Abang Johari said establishing digital economy for Sarawak may be a long and challenging journey, but was confident that with the support of business establishments, industries, institutions of higher learning such as Swinburne, and professional bodies in contributing their areas of expertise, Sarawak would be able to achieve its goal of establishing digital economy that will propel the state to greater heights of development.
The state government had announced that it would set up the Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) to regulate the development of ICT infrastructure and digital economy utilisation.
Under the proposed SMA, the Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation will be established to coordinate all digital economy initiatives including infrastructure, e-government, e-commerce, talent development and cyber security.
Also present at the event were State Secretary Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Morshidi Abdul Ghani, Minister of
Education, Science and Technological Research Dato Sri Michael Manyin, and Assistant Minister of Education and Technological Research Dr Annuar Rapaee.