Rural Development Ministry upgrading internet access in rural areas

He said the efforts involved the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the ministry had also met Telekom Malaysia Berhad and several other providers (communication companies) to come out with solutions to address internet speed issue.

"Efforts and in-depth studies are being carried out by the parties involved. We do not want the bid to fail because it involves a huge allocation and we do not want to waste the people's money," he said after launching a state level leadership seminar for women in rural areas, here, today.

Besides being a current necessity, Abdul Rahman said internet facilities are urgently needed in the new norms in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak, in which many activities such as education and marketing are being conducted online.

The ministry itself, he said, is conducting online courses and training programmes but under the new standard operating procedure (SOP), it was forced to limit the number of participants.

"For example, we target only about 680 participants for the leadership seminar programme nationwide, compared to the number of participants last year, which was 3,101 (participants), to ensure SOP compliance particularly the physical distancing aspect this year," he said, adding that the seminar aims to increase participation in community development and social programmes among women in rural areas.

The seminar which had been held in Kelantan, Sabah and Terengganu, with the upcoming editions in Johor and Sarawak, also taught effective communication via communication technology, to help rural entrepreneurs market their products.