KANGAR, Oct 22 — The Perlis government has taken the initiative to introduce the Perlis Digital Plan 2025 as the initial step in connecting the government, the people and the private sector through digital platforms.
State Secretary Azman Mohd Yusof said the plan was mooted during the tabling of the state budget last year, to improve state government services by exploring a new field, namely digital technology.
“The main focus of the Perlis Digital Plan 2025 is to involve three main elements, namely the government, the people and the private sector, which is more holistic, comprehensive and does not only focus on one party,” he told Bernama recently.
Azman said the plan, which will be officially launched in November, has seven clusters, namely government, security, infrastructure, community, economy, tourism and agriculture as well as security, which is the most important cluster in the plan.
“Digital security is important when all business is done digitally, whether it involves the public, the government or the private sector, the initial step to empower this element is important in ensuring that there is no cyber threat from outsiders,” he said.
Since Perlis is an agriculture-based state, Azman said the state government would like to see changes in this sector in the future, when digital applications are used to manage crop production such as the use of drones in collecting water control management data on agricultural land.
He said the plan was set up specifically for the state of Perlis, according to its own mold based on the master plan of the National Digital Network (JENDELA) under the 12th Malaysia Plan (2021-2025).
“We need to set up our own plan because the situation in Perlis is different from other states, for example the broadband infrastructure in the Klang Valley is more advanced than here,” he said.
He said for the initial step in the five-year short-term plan of the Perlis Digital Plan 2025, the state government would focus on the ‘digital culture’ programmes, which is to educate the community on digital culture, by creating a Digital Government platform.
Azman said among the initiatives that have been carried out were promoting the Cashless Perlis programme, virtual adventures at Perlis Digital Geopark, Masjid Digital and many more.
Meanwhile, a government pensioner, Maimunah Ismail, 64, welcomed the state government’s effort.
She said digital technology is important today when almost all daily affairs such as paying utility bills, buying goods and bank transactions are done online.
For Nur Ris’lah Muzaim, 23, digital technology has its pros and cons.
“However, it may be a burden for the elderly, because they do not have the access to do so and are more comfortable with the old system,” said Nur Ris’lah.
