SIBU: The use of drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) plays a vital role in helping Sarawak address geographical challenges and improve service delivery to rural communities.
Sarawak Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shin cited that safe and responsible use of UAV technology could contribute to sustainable solutions to logistics and mobility issues in the state.
He said this when opening the 2025 Aviation Safety Seminar (Central Sarawak Region) at the Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud Chancellor Hall, University of Technology Sarawak (UTS) here today.
“Sarawak has vast rural areas and scattered communities, most of which are only accessible by small aircaft operating to Short Take-Off and Landing airfields (STOLPORTS) and often affected by weather conditions.
“Through the exploration of UAV and eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) technology, we can open up new avenues for safer and more efficient medical delivery, agricultural monitoring and community air mobility,” he said.
According to him, Sarawak has the potential to become a regional leader in the Low Altitude Economy (LAE), in line with the rapid development of this sector globally.
He added countries such as China, Singapore and the European Union have begun to develop comprehensive policies and action plans to safely integrate drones into their civil airspace.
“In Malaysia, I understand that the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) is developing comprehensive regulations on remotely piloted aircraft systems, including unmanned traffic management and future air mobility corridors,” he explained.
Lee said the Sarawak government fully supports the implementation of pilot projects in rural areas including the delivery of medical supplies to rural clinics, forest mapping, crop monitoring and air mobility testing using prototypes eVTOL.
However, he also reminded that the development of drone technology must be accompanied by strict regulation and high awareness among users.
“We still see many incidents of unauthorised use of drones in public areas or near sensitive areas. Even if there is no malicious intent, lack of knowledge is not an excuse. Misuse of drones can endanger lives and the security of the country’s airspace,” he stressed.
Therefore, this seminar is an important platform to strengthen awareness, knowledge sharing and cooperation between government agencies, industry, academia and the community.
The seminar, themed “Safe and Secure Skies: Building a Responsible Drone Ecosystem”, was organised by the Ministry of Transport Sarawak (MOTS) in collaboration with the Sarawak Regional CAAM and UTS, involving participation from various agencies, NGOs, and drone industry players.
Lee also emphasised the MOTS’s continues its commitment to strengthen enforcement and compliance of drone operations, expand public awareness programmes throughout Sarawak and collaborate with universities and industry in developing safety guidelines and training.
Also present were CAAM Deputy Director (Operations) Sarawak Region; Noorashikin Haron, MOTS Permanent Secretary; Datu Wong Hee Sieng, UTS Vice Chancellor; Prof Datuk Dr Khairuddin Abdul Hamid, as well as other invited guests from relevant agencies.
