S'wak polls: Satok has potential to become digital economy hub

By Anas Abu Hassan and Anasathia Jenis

KUCHING, Dec 10 -- Satok, located in the heart of Kuching and surrounded by active economic activities, has the potential to become a hub for digital economic development that can improve people’s living standards.

This is in line with one of the 34 pledges contained in the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) manifesto for the 12th Sarawak State Election which was launched on Wednesday – to propel Sarawak economic development through digital economy agenda.

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) lecturer Dr Ammar Redza Ahmad Rizal is of the view that the Sarawak government has strived to build an ecosystem to develop the digital economy which has been proven to benefit the people in increasing income and living standards.

“This is evidenced by the launch of the Sarawak Digital Economy Strategy 2018-2022, which saw the successful use of the e-wallet application developed by the state government, namely S Pay Global,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, 26-year-old online trader, Noor Afifi Ibrahim, described the state government’s efforts to drive the growth of the digital economy as timely as young people are now aggressively exploring business opportunities, especially through digital platforms.

Noor Afifi, who is also a student at the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, has been running an online business since 2014 and sees many opportunities and spaces that can be improved to encourage young people to be directly involved in the digital economy, especially in the Satok area.

“For example, efforts taken by the Gagasan Anak Sarawak Economic Fund (TEGAS) with the recent launch of the Tegas Digital Village (TDV) in helping provide a platform for young people is very good.

“However, the information pertaining to the programme by TDV needs to be made disseminated comprehensively to create awareness among youths in Satok, of the opportunities provided by the state government,” Nor Afifi said.

Meanwhile, Sarawak Multimedia Authority general manager Dr Zaidi Razak said Sarawak’s rural areas also recorded an increase in the use of the S Pay Global e-wallet, and as of now, reached 83,000 registered merchants since it was launched in 2017.

Zaidi stressed that this shows rural communities have also begun to accept and enjoy the benefits of using S Pay Global in an effort to boost the digital economy.

“S Pay Global, together with the Sarawak government, will further increase efforts to provide awareness to the rural community, so that they are more confident to conduct cashless transactions with the S Pay Global,” he said.

Satok seat has 14,314 registered voters and about 23 per cent of that number consists of young voters under the age of 40.

The seat will also see a three-cornered fight between GPS candidate Datuk Ibrahim Baki, Datuk Nor Irwan Ahmat Nor of PKR and Awang Badele Awang Ali of Parti Bumi Kenyalang.

The incumbent for the Satok seat was Chief Minister and GPS chairman Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, who is now contesting in Gedong.

-- BERNAMA