1Malaysia Internet Centre on the cards for Pengkalan Kubor village

A 1Malaysia Internet Centre (PI1M) in Kampung Kajang Sebidang, Pengkalan Kubor, is on the drawing board for the benefit and convenience of the villagers, said Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Jailani Johari.

He said about 40 PI1M had been set up throughout Kelantan out of the more than 300 PI1M nationwide.

"At the moment, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission is planning to establish 15 PI1M, including the one in Kampung Kajang Sebidang, following complaints from residents on the lack of broadband coverage in the area.

"The move is necessary as the 41 per cent broadband access rate in the state is considered very low," he told reporters during a visit to the media centre of the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia in Pengkalan Kubor at the Tumpat Hospital training centre here on Wednesday.

With the PI1M available, residents would enjoy Internet access and computer literacy would increase, especially among the people of Pengkalan Kubor, who will be going out to vote today.

Jalani said that in addition to the existing 81 towers in Kelantan, the ministry would build 19 more transmitter towers in Kelantan' including one tower in Kampung Telok Jering in Pengkalan Kubor.

"The construction of these towers will take some time as the decision on their locations would be an issue delaying implementation. If there are no objections, work will begin next year," he said.

The project involves the construction of 1,000 telecommunications towers over the next three years with an investment of RM1.5 billion to improve Internet coverage in rural areas, as announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak when tabling Budget 2014 last year.

"We hope that with this government's initiative, complaints on the quality of telecommunications services, especially during the festive seasons, would be reduced, he said while praising Celcom for having provided 68 transmitter towers throughout Kelantan.