KUCHING: The state must strike a balance between having proper IT infrastructure and physical infrastructure related to connectivity, such as roads.
In pointing this out, Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing said physical connectivity is as important as IT infrastructure and they should be developed in tandem.
“As a minister tasked to build better infrastructure, it is my sworn duty to build infrastructure and improve on physical connectivity as it complements IT infrastructure,” said Masing.
He said this in his speech to support the motion by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg at a special State Legislative Assembly sitting in conjunction with the assembly’s 150th anniversary yesterday.
“We can send photos of the cows which our farmers breed through cyberspace to buyers worldwide, but for them to transport those cows, they need physical connectivity and transportation hub. Only then the whole system is considered complete,” Masing pointed out.
He said funding for physical infrastructure must come hand in hand with IT infrastructure; otherwise it will only create desires but no means to satisfy such desires.
On another matter, Masing said he has been propagating and pushing for development of rural areas which have been left out from the corridors of progress, even though a lot has been done by the government to uplift the socio-economy and wellbeing of people in the rural areas.
“However, there is still so much to be done in bringing meaningful development and investments to rural areas due to lack of roads and infrastructures. If roads can be made, investments can be pegged to these areas where it would become engines of growth to the region,” he said.
Masing also stressed on the state government’s commitment to deliver two major infrastructural developments over the next 10 years — the Pan Borneo Highway connecting Sematan to Miri and Second Trunk Road from Roban to Kota Samarahan (Package A) and Betong to Samarahan (Package B).
He also said the establishment of Upper Rajang Development Agency (Urda) is a move by the government towards accelerating rural development and uplifting the livelihood of the rural population.
“As the chairman of Urda, my team and I will ensure that its objectives are met within our means,” he emphasised.