Big budget allocated to upgrade state’s digital infrastructure to transform Sarawak’s economy
Abang Johari (second left) in a photoshoot with Jumaani (second right) before receiving the award. Photo courtesy of the Chief Minister’s Office
KUCHING: Sarawak is setting aside a big budget to upgrade its digital infrastructure to enable 4G services to be available in all parts of the state.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said this is being done to fulfil the vision of industrialising Sarawak’s economy from commodity and agriculture based through digitalisation by 2030.
Having served in various ministerial capacities in the Sarawak government from tourism to public housing, agriculture and industrial development, he said he was there in the past 40 years to see and do his bit to steer Sarawak from an agriculture and commodity-based economy to one that is diversified into manufacturing and industrialisation.
“When I took over the helm as Chief Minister in 2017, I had the conviction that Sarawak has to move away from conventional economy to one that is driven by digital technologies. We have to follow the rest of the world towards the digitalisation of our economy which presents vast opportunities for us beyond the shores of Sarawak.
“Sarawak has a population of about 2.8 million and this is not sufficient to support a strong domestic economy and we have to turn to the rest of Asia with a population of three billion as markets for our products, agricultural products in particular.
“We still have large tracts of land which landowners can develop to produce food. I believe with smart and precision farming, and Internet of Things (IoT), coupled with good marketing strategies and logistics, we can penetrate the Asian food market and become a net exporter of food,” he said in his acceptance speech after being conferred with honorary doctorate by Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia yesterday.
Swinburne admitted Abang Johari to the degree of Doctor of the University in recognition of his long and distinguished service to the state of Sarawak, and his strong connection with Swinburne.
Swinburne Chancellor Graham Goldsmith presented the award to Abang Johari during the ceremony held at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre which was also attended by his wife Datuk Amar Juma’ani Tun Tuanku Bujang and daughter Dayang Norjihan.
According to Abang Johari again, Sarawak has all the potentials to transform its economy away from conventional into a digital economy with all the strength that the state has.
“We are also carrying out research into the development of hydrogen as green energy from water with the hope that one day we can benefit from an economy that is built around the use and production of hydrogen as an emission free fuel.
“Our political stability, our effort in earnest towards good public governance, our abundant natural resources, our vast renewable energy potentials and our strategic location at the centre of Asia are our strong points that we must capitalise on to transform the economy and upgrade the quality of life and living standard of our people.
“We know what we want to do for ourselves in Sarawak is a very tall order. But we count ourselves fortunate that we have partners like Swinburne that is willing to help us in our effort to train and develop our human resource potential as part of our overall transformation plan,” he said.
He said he was proud to say Swinburne Sarawak is a very successful partnership between the Sarawak state government and Swinburne University of Technology to provide Australian degrees at affordable prices in Malaysia.
Since it was established in 2000, he said Swinburne Sarawak had produced over 7,000 graduates, with 65 per cent from Sarawak, providing a strong mechanism for developing and retaining local talent.
“Swinburne Sarawak has created a significant social and economic impact for the state, generating around 1,400 jobs and RM150 million per annum to the Sarawak economy and producing about 700 graduates each year.
“The state government is working closely with Swinburne Sarawak in our quest to make it a leading university in Malaysia by 2025. We are working hand in hand to develop a ‘world class’ campus in Kuching with around 5,000 students and a research ecosystem that links closely with Swinburne,” he said.
He added that Sarawak has a long association with Australia.
During the Second World War when Sarawak was briefly occupied by the Japanese, he said Australia was among the countries that had sent military forces to Sarawak to liberate it from the Japanese at the end of the war.
“Australia has been a place where many Sarawakians come to study and even our two previous chief ministers were educated in Australia under the Colombo Plan.
“Sarawak’s association with Australia has endured to this day, and when we in Sarawak were looking for partners to assist us in the development of our tertiary education and human resource development, Australia, Swinburne in particular, was there to lend us a helping hand. Swinburne overseas campus was established in Kuching in the year 2000, thanks to Australia’s generosity and thanks to the people in Swinburne for their willingness to assist us in Sarawak to develop our human capital,” he said.