PRIME Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today launched the Jaringan Prihatin Programme involving an allocation of RM3.5 billion to bridge the digital gap.

He said the programme will benefit approximately 8.5 million people from the bottom 40 group who will be able to own smartphones or enjoy the broadband internet plan.

The government will provide RM2 billion of the total allocation, while telecommunication companies and service providers will chip in the remaining RM1.5 billion, especially in terms of free data, he said at the launch of the programme Putrajaya today.

Also present was Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.

“In order to bridge the digital gap among the community, there is a need to ensure everyone can get the access at a reasonable cost, and has the skill to make optimal use of the internet by 2030,” he said.

In order to overcome challenges in the digital divide, Muhyiddin said three main strategies would be focused on namely accessibility, affordability and skills.

The government, he said, was aware that in aspects of network coverage, penetration and speed, there was still a lot of room for improvement, especially in some low-density rural areas.

He said the government had even agreed to the upgrading of broadband services nationwide through the RM21 billion National Digital Network Plan, which included a fibre optic plan and increasing the quality of 4G coverage by 2022.

The government will also expedite the provision of 5G infrastructure with private investment through Digital Nasional Bhd, estimated at RM15 billion, he said.

“Insya Allah, these efforts will help in narrowing the broadband coverage and speed gaps over the next five years,” he said.

In terms of affordability, Muhyiddin said there was still a gap in financial capability to obtain internet access.

Although the cost of the lowest broadband plan in Malaysia was 1.1% of the country’s gross national product per capita, which is in line with United Nations guidelines, it was still high for a certain part of the low-income community, he said.

In fact, he said the cost of using smartphones would also consume a large portion of the monthly salary of those from low-income households.

On skills, Muhyiddin said the lack of digital skills was also a factor that would hamper efforts to increase digitisation among the community.

According to a Malaysian Communications and Multimedia survey, currently, only half the population have standard digital skills, while 25% have advanced digital skills, he said. – Bernama, May 5, 2021.

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