KOTA SAMARAHAN: Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah has urged telecommunications companies to improve internet coverage in Samarahan Division, saying poor connectivity is affecting access to essential services, including the national fuel subsidy scheme.
“We have a petrol station here. How do you fill up using the BUDI subsidy if there is no internet?” said the Asajaya assemblyman during an event here today (May 9).
The Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Minister said areas such as Sadong Jaya and Asajaya, located about an hour from Kuching, are still facing unreliable internet access.
He said he had raised the issue with Kota Samarahan MP Datuk Rubiah Wang and called on both state and federal authorities to address the matter.
“The government has been ensuring that internet connectivity is there for those staying near the Indonesian border.
“So please look into areas that are also nearby from Kuching,” he said, adding that service operators appeared not to have examined the issue thoroughly enough.
Abdul Karim revealed that he had personally funded Unifi broadband subscriptions for the Asajaya District Office, SMK Asajaya and SMK Hajah Laila Taib every month from his own allocation to ensure students and civil servants in the area could stay connected.
He also pleaded to both Sarawak and federal ministers responsible for telecommunications to prioritise improvements beyond their own constituencies.
“Ministers and ministries entrusted with this, whether from Sarawak or federal — please look into this,” he urged.
He ended his remarks with a firm assurance.
“I will make sure internet connectivity here becomes better,” he said.
