KUALA TERENGGANU, April 9 — A lack of knowledge and understanding on telecommunication issues, especially among community leaders, makes the people’s participation in related matters less effective.
Communications and Multimedia Minister (MenKOMM) Tan Sri Annuar Musa said unlike other problems, the issue of poor Internet access, for example, could not be seen with the naked eye, instead it had to be tested using certain equipment.
“If the road (is damaged), it can be seen, (if a problem with) the Internet, (it) is not visible, you can only see it on the phone. ‘I want to be fast’, there is a lot of work behind the scenes but many do not understand this.
“What do you do if the line is not strong? What is wrong if the Internet is only available in some places. Because they do not know and don’t understand, the participation of the people in related matters, including community leaders, is less effective,” he said at the MenKOMM’s Iftar ceremony with the Terengganu Community here tonight.
He said in an effort to raise awareness on the issue of Internet access, his ministry took the approach to ‘popularise’ telecommunications and strive to increase understanding of related matters through several series of expeditions.
Annuar said among the initiatives undertaken included going down to the locations themselves and checking the strength of Internet access using special devices and ensuring that the speed in each area was the same as that offered by telecommunication companies (telco).
“At the same time, we held engagement sessions with telcos to help popularise telecommunications and examine the people’s problems. Don’t think of profit, but to what extent it (the telco) has to invest to improve the quality of Internet services.
“The need for good and world-class communication services has become imperative and the government is always committed to upgrading the quality of telecommunications,” he said.
He added that in order to address various issues related to telecommunications, his ministry also needed input from down the ranks, especially community leaders.
He said his department needed detailed information to identify areas facing telecommunication issues, whether it needed new towers or existing towers needed upgrading. — Bernama
