Facebook founder's sister inspires Abang Johari on orang utan's role in fighting viruses

KUCHING: Sarawak Chief Minister, Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg kept his punchline until the end of an international conference on digital economy yesterday by revealing his sketch of an orang utan with a message that healthy living can fight viruses.

Delivering his closing remarks at the Fourth International Digital Economy Conference Sarawak (IDECS), here, he said he was inspired to do the sketch of the orang utan after listening to a presentation by Randi Zuckerberg, a sister of Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, at the conference.

In Randi's presentation, Abang Johari said she was talking about having a goat to be her icon for corporate introduction.

"If she has the goat, we have the orang utan as our symbol because the orang utan and their habitat are very much linked to the environment.

The orang utan here are surrounded by good environment, which offers healthy living and healthy living can fight viruses," he said.

In his speech, he also told the audience who, according to the organiser, included over 10,000 online viewers worldwide, of Sarawak's plan to improve its digital infrastructure towards becoming a developed state in 10 years' time, including emphasising on the need to master the English language.

"While it is still mandatory to use Bahasa Malaysia, which is our national language, we must also encourage our young to master English.

"You just imagine today, all the panellists speak in English. If you don't understand what they are saying, then you will feel that you are (coming from) somewhere else in the world," he said.

-- BERNAMA