Len: Sama Jaya Digital Village ready by March next

year

KUCHING: The proposed Digital Village (DV) at Sama Jaya High Tech Park here is set to
be ready by March next year.

Tabung Ekonomi Gagasan Anak Bumiputera Sarawak (Tegas) has been given the mandate to
implement the RM27-million project.

Tegas chairman Datuk Len Talif Salleh said time was quite short for them to construct the
village, the first as well as the only one in Malaysia, because they were pushing to deliver the
DV in 14 months although Tegas was given 18 months to complete the project.

“That is why we are rushing through to select the contractor. Five out of six tenderers had
come up with their quotation. After we have gone through the process our Board of Trustees
had decided to pick Hock Seng Lee as the contractor to build the village.

“Works on the site are to begin today. That is why we don’t have the earth breaking, just the
handing over of site today so that they will prepare all the land clearing and everything
immediately,” Len, who is Assistant Minister of Urban Planning, Land Administration and
Environment, told reporters at the site here yesterday.

He said he had told Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg that they would
deliver the DV by the first quarter of 2020.

“We do not have the luxury of time to complete the project but hopefully we will be able to
deliver it on time. Of course, without compromising on the quality because we are talking
about a digital village, which must have high quality,” he said.

About 20 acres had been allocated for the DV, of which about five acres will be used to
develop two buildings plus all other components including a lecture hall, office, canteen,
theatrette, work space and gym.

Len said the village would be expanded over the years because a lot of components needed to
be provided for.

He noted that Tegas, which had also been tasked to operate the village, would be guided by
Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) in terms of set-up, facilities and the latest digital
technology.

The main function of the DV, said Len, is for the Sarawak government to provide a platform
especially for the young people, who graduated from the hubs, to go to higher level for
exposure.

“Probably, we can bring people from overseas who can give them talks, guide them to come
up with mobile application which is good for Sarawak, good for them.

“The DV is more than an IT institution. Sarawak is the first one to do this. We need to do this
to provide the infrastructure, like the speed of the internet, which is very important, where we
are talking about 200 to 250 mbps. At the moment at our hub, it is only about 100 to 250
mbps,” he said.

Len assured that people can go to the hub as well as the DV at a discount price, adding that
the young people can go there, sit there and work out whatever products they want to
develop.

Members of Tegas Board of Trustees, including Assistant Minister of Corporate Affairs

Abdullah Saidol, Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports Datuk Snowdan Lawan, Batu Danau
assemblyman Paulus Gumbang, Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau, Demak Laut
assemblyman Dr Hazland Abang Hipni and Hock Seng Lee Berhad executive director Tony
Yu were also present at the handing-over of site ceremony.