(Sarawak Tribune; September 15th, 2004)

KUCHING - Linking up all districts, sub-districts and rural schools will be among the priority of the Sarawak government in bridging the digital divide in the State. "There are some district headquarters and sub-districts that have not been connected with any form of communication. This will be our first priority," said State Secretary Datuk Amar Haji Abdul Aziz Husain.

He estimated that about three to four districts and sub-districts in the State that had yet to be linked with telephone lines, singling out Pakan as one of them. Aziz said although some remote areas were accessible via satellite phones, this mode of communication was "very very expensive", prompting the government to source for alternative means such as telephone connections.

He also stressed that connecting rural schools were vital to ensure the younger generations could have access to the Internet which enable them to acquire knowledge from the World Wide Web. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had assured that the government would continue with its efforts to address the digital divide when tabling the Budget last week.

They include initiating the provision of computer lab facilities in rural schools and expanding Info Desa and Internet Desa programmes. Earlier, Aziz who is also the chairman of PPKS Technology College signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Senior Vice President of Open University Malaysia Professor Dr Ansari Ahmed for a collaboration in a management diploma.

The diploma programme is a two-and-a-half-year course. PPKS Technology College will be providing all the learning facilities and teaching staff. Aziz also received a mock cheque for RM20,000 from Petronas for the PPKS Education Fund. At the function yesterday, PPKS Technology College executive director Baharuddin Abdullah also signed a MoU with Meteor Learning Sdn Bhd to conduct English courses targeted at working adults and school leavers.