TALLINN (Estonia): Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said here yesterday that Estonia would be a good model for Sarawak’s state-wide multi-media and communication infrastructure development as part of the overall plan to digitise the state’s economy.
Johari who is on his first day of study visit to Estonia said the Baltic country’s model offered a workable solution for Sarawak in order to be able to provide fast Internet speed and penetration crucial for the development of a digital economy.
The Chief Minister made these comments during a lunch at a local restaurant after visiting the Estonian E-Government Academy (eGA) here where he and members of his delegation were given briefings on various aspects of e-government initiatives according to the Estonian experience.
Of particular interest to the Chief Minister was the service made available by three main service providers that are supported by at least 23 smaller localised providers found throughout Estonia which he said had triggered the country’s drastic rise as a digital economic power in European Union.
Johari said another aspect worth considering was provision of underground fibre optic network ducts along public roads in Estonia that had made 4G Internet services easily available in all parts of the country where increasing number of business of all sizes are migrating to the digital transaction platform.
Later the Chief Minister, accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, State Secretary, Tan Sri Mohamad Morshidi bin Abdul Ghani, Assistant Minister of Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment
Datu Len Talif Salleh and the Malaysian Ambassador to Finland, Blanche Olbery paid a courtesy visit on Estonia’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Vaino Reinart at his office.
In his return address to Reinart, Johari said his visit earlier to eGA had aroused interest of the state government to collaborate with Estonia in many areas vital for the transformation of Sarawak into a digital economy.
He said he was particularly impressed with Estonia’s e-payment system that had permeated into most aspects of the country’s commercial, business and public servicetransactions.
“We hope we can collaborate with Estonia in developing a similar to-be-launched e-payment platform in Sarawak called Sarawak pay,” Johari said.
He also expressed the interest of the state government to co-operate with Estonia in R & D leveraging on its vast wealth in bio-diversity.
Also accompanying the Chief Minister during the visit were Datuk Patinggi Dr. George Chan Hong Nam, Sarawak Information System (SAINS) chairman and Col. Dato Harbans Singh, the Honorary Consul of Estonia in Malaysia.
Later, in the evening Johari hosted a dinner in honour of the Chairman of the Estonia-South Asia Parliamentary Group Coordinator, Valdo Randpere at a local restaurant here.
