GUA MUSANG – About 30,000 Orang Asli in the Gua Musang district will benefit from the implementation of Phase 1 of the National Digital Interconnection Plan (Jendela) involving the construction of telecommunication towers and fibre optic facilities in their villages.
Nenggiri assemblyman Ab Aziz Yusoff said Jendela was a government effort to create a digital society not only in the urban areas, but also in the rural areas, including the Orang Asli villages, especially in Kelantan.
“The government through the Communications and Multimedia Ministry has given a huge allocation of up to RM1 billion in Kelantan to fulfil and deliver the government’s wish to enable all residents of the state to get 4G coverage.
“This programme includes the construction of telecommunication towers, with 21 towers in Gua Musang alone,” he told reporters during the “Bergagoh Ma Senoi Bek” programme with the Orang Asli community at Pos Pulat here today.
Meanwhile, a resident of Pos Pulat, Fauziah Ajis, 35, said she was happy with the efforts made by the government to improve the telecommunications infrastructure in the area.
“Before this, there was no internet access at home and I had to go to higher ground to find coverage because the Internet access in our village is very weak and not all villages can get it,” she said.
Sulaiman Along, 45, said he also had problems making contact with people outside the area, especially during critical and anxious moments, due to poor Internet coverage.
“This problem has been going on for a long time, and I really hope that Internet and line access in the Orang Asli villages can be improved because we also need facilities like those in the urban areas,” he said.
According to Sulaiman, telecommunication companies had built substations in their village area but the coverage received was still weak. – Bernama, September 27, 2022
