Internet penetration rate will surpass 90% by 2020: Jailani

KUALA LUMPUR: The government is committed to ensuring that the internet penetration rate in the country will surpass 90% by 2020, said Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Jailani Johari.
As such, he said works to upgrade the internet service were not only being done in urban areas but also in rural areas, including in Sabah and Sarawak.
"In 2010, the prime minister (Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak) launched the national broadband plan and our target back then was only to achieve 50% household broadband penetration … but now, the household broadband penetration rate had reached 84.5% nationwide.
"We (ministry) will continue implementing our programmes with the government's allocation, but at the same time, the private sector or the service providers must also expand their service network or internet penetration because it is the government's aspiration to reduce the digital gap (between urban and rural areas)," he told Bernama after appearing on Bernama News Channel's Nine11 programme today.
In the 2018 Budget, RM1 million was allocated to develop communication infrastructure and broadband facility in Sabah dan Sarawak.
Jailani said in facing the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0), the ministry, through the National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS) had collaborated with numerous agencies to implement technology development awareness programmes for the public.
"Under the NBOS, we provide the infrastructure. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), for example, will provide communication facilities and internet centres ... that's how the people in rural areas are exposed to technology development," he said.
The deputy minister said the ministry would continue implementing relevant programmes to ensure that the people were exposed to Industry 4.0, which would see the use of Internet of Things (IoT) in all aspects of life.
Meanwhile, in response to government's effort to address the issue of fake news, Jailani was in the opinion that legislation was not the solution to all problems.
"The best solution is through advocacy or creating awareness because the people in Malaysia like to share what they know. So, we have to look into the fake news issue from all perspective, not just one," he said.
While the Special Committee set up by the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department studies the possible legislative solution to the issue, he said the Communications and Multimedia Ministry had begun implementing a multi-pronged approach, which includes advocacy, monitoring of websites and enforcement, to help tackle the issue of fake news. — Bernama