SUNGAI SIPUT, Sept 18 — Villagers at Kampung Orang Asli (KOA) Bersah, Pos Kuala Mu here no longer need to make the 19-kilometre trek to Pos Legap just to make a phone call or use the Internet as their village has been equipped with the facility recently.
The village Tok Batin (elder), Hadu Long expressed his gratitude to the government on behalf of the entire village for providing coverage via satellite and broadband wireless access at the village surau since the end of 2021.
“We’re now able to keep in touch with our children who work outside and chalet operators here can promote our tourism destination to more people through social media. Also, visitors who come don’t lack phone coverage as previously after the government upgraded the nearby communications tower in Kuala Mu.
“People’s economic situation here has improved as they can conduct business online using the Internet and I do hope they don’t misuse this facility,” he told Bernama during a recent visit by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) with Numix network provider.
He said the village, located about an hour’s travel from Sungai Siput, had around 500 residents from 49 families.
Perak MCMC director Mohd Irwan Mohamed said the installation of the broadband wireless access network in Oct 2021 allowed villagers here to enjoy connectivity while upgrades to existing coverage facilities were conducted.
“The villagers here can enjoy Internet service collectively at the coverage area to use the facility for free, thanks to the government,” he said, adding that 73 such locations were selected in Perak under the National Digital Network Plan (Jendela) using satellite technology to provide communication coverage.
Meanwhile, during a visit to Kampung Pong, Gerik yesterday, Perak MCMC director (development), Muhammad Fairuz Abdullah said they would also improve Internet coverage by upgrading the telecommunications tower using fibre technology.
“Previously there was 2G and 3G coverage provided for the village using satellite core lines that were less stable and could not provide good Internet coverage, especially during bad weather.
“Under Jendela, the tower in the village has been upgraded to a fibre optic connection to provide better quality and faster 2G and 4G coverage,” he said, adding that the over 120 villagers can enjoy the facility, including children who require it for learning purposes.
