KUCHING: The plan by Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) to provide internet services by installing satellite broadband WiFi facilities in 1,000 locations across the state is to ensure rural students are not left behind in their studies, said the party’s Bukit Begunan branch chairperson Norina Umoi Utot.
She said installation priority will be given to rural schools as having internet connectivity is now a must, especially with the Covid-19 pandemic having made online learning a new norm.
“PSB empathises with rural students who have to worry about when the next internet signal will be available, or have to trek snake-infested jungles and scale hills and climb treetops just to get internet connection.
“We will make sure they are not left behind,” she said in a statement yesterday.
PSB president Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh had during a recent press conference in Sibu announced the party’s plan to instal satellite broadband WiFi facilities in 1,000 locations in rural parts of Sarawak.
He said the facilities had already been installed in eight schools in the Baleh constituency, and that more schools and rural areas will benefit from the party’s initiative in the coming weeks.
Norina meanwhile said that she believed rural communities in Sarawak had been neglected for too long in terms of basic infrastructure such as roads, supply of electricity and water, and internet connectivity.
She added that resolving these issues required strong political will and courage, something which PSB is aiming to bring in its bid to make Sarawak a better place for all.