Sarawak will decide its own future in developing state: Abang Jo

SIBU: Sarawak will decide its own future in the development of the state without waiting to be told by any quarters, said Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg (pix).
He said one of the efforts to determine the fate and future of Sarawak was to make digital economic development a priority.
"The old model of economic development cannot bring Sarawak to a digital development that gears towards a future world," he said.
He was speaking at a ceremony to confer a honorary doctorate from the University College Of Technology Sarawak (UCTS) on him at the the university's second convocation here today, which was officiated by Sarawak Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud.
As such, Abang Johari said the state would emulate Estonia as the model of digital technology development.
The chief minister, who led a state delegation to visit Estonia recently, said it was once a poor country during the Soviet Union rule and had transformed its economy within a short time through the use of digital technology.
He said in Estonia the government, voting and banking services were all done digitally by mobile devices that facilitate transactions, save time and resources that could be used elsewhere.
"In Estonia there are even facilities such as e-citizen that enables one to become a citizen of that country and conduct business without being physically present there. It shows how daring and innovative their ideas are and these have made them successful within a short time," he said.
Abang Johari said Sarawak would launch the e-payment facility called Sarawakpay, to provide the platform for various transactions.
For that, he said Sarawak would strengthen its communications and multimedia infrastructure for high speed internet.
"It is difficult to carry out due to the mountainous terrain but several ways have been identified to overcome it," he added. — Bernama