SUNGAI SIPUT: Villagers at Kampung Orang Asli Bersah, Pos Kuala Mu, here have not needed to make the 19km trek to Pos Legap just to make a phone call or use the Internet.
The village’s Tok Batin (village chief), Hadu Long, expressed his gratitude to the government for providing coverage via satellite and broadband wireless access at the village surau since 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.
“Visitors also don’t have problems with phone coverage after the government upgraded the nearby communications tower in Kuala Mu.
“The people’s economic situation here has improved as they can conduct business online and I do hope they don’t misuse this facility,” he told Bernama during a visit by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) with network provider Numix.
Hadu said the village, located about an hour’s travel from Sungai Siput, has around 500 residents from 49 families.
Perak MCMC director Mohd Irwan Mohamed said the installation of the broadband wireless access network in October 2021 has allowed villagers to enjoy connectivity while upgrades to existing coverage facilities were conducted.
“The villagers here can enjoy Internet services at the coverage area for free, thanks to the government,” he said.
He added that 73 locations were selected in Perak under the National Digital Network Plan (Jendela) using satellite technology to provide communications coverage.
During a visit to Kampung Pong, Gerik, on Sunday, Perak MCMC director (development) Muhammad Fairuz Abdullah said they would also improve Internet coverage by upgrading the telecommunications tower using fibre technology.
“Under Jendela, the tower in the village has been upgraded to a fibre-optic connection to provide better quality and faster 2G and 4G speeds,” he said.
He added that the over 120 villagers could enjoy the facility, including children who require it for learning purposes.
