SINCE December last year, Ahmad Danish Safwan Mustafa’s daily routine has changed to include a few hours spent surfing the Internet.
Though the 10-year old lives close to many of Terengganu’s beautiful beaches, the only kind of tide he is allowed to ride is the digital wave.
“I’m not allowed to swim in the sea because it is dangerous. But my parents don’t mind making a trip here whenever I want to surf the Internet,” he says.
By here, the SK Mak Lagam student means Pusat Internet 1Malaysia or the 1Malaysia Internet Centre in Kampung Gong Chengal, Kemaman, Terengganu. At the centre, Ahmad has made friends with boys of other schools, including Mohammad Alif Rashdan Razali, Muhamad Daniel Iqhfan Amir Muhaidin and Abdul Muiz Fauzi who attend SK Kemasik.
Although the trio, are members of the centre, they only became regulars a few months ago when four South Korean exchange students came here to share their tech skills with the villagers under the International Telecommunication Union ICT Volunteer programme.
“They showed us computer apps and taught us words in Hangul,” says Mohammad Alif, who enjoys playing games at Letzhop.com, when not doing research for school work. Through Facebook, the boys still keep in touch with their South Korean friends, Jeyong Ryu, DongHyunk Shin, Sanghuyn Han and Seungwan Han.
When he goes to the centre, Abdul Muiz is usually accompanied by his mother, Rohani Muhamad, a Village Development and Safety Committee member. After learning how to use Facebook at the centre, Rohani, 50, uses her account to make public the goings-on in the village.
“I recently shared the link to the YouTube video made by the South Korean students when they made us kimchi and bulgogi,” she says.
At the centre, surfing charges are RM2 an hour but registered members only pay RM1. Life time membership is a one-off fee of RM5.
EVOLVING FUNCTIONALITIES
An initiative of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, the centre is more than just a place for members to surf the Internet. While the centre offers access at speeds of up to 4Mbps, exposure to the connected world is enriched through ICT training programmes.
The centre also serves as a hub for community activities. The project (previously known as the Community Broadband Centre) was introducedin2007, with the aim to bridge the digital divide and to bring connectivity to users in under-served areas.
Mohd Fadhillah Mohd Nor, head of Digital Communities Department, MCMC says that as of August, 2015, there are 580 such centres in the country, serving a total of 519,389 members.
He says: “We want the centre to be more than just a cyber cafe. We started offering fast connectivity to under-served areas for the underprivileged but the concept has evolved and it now offers more activities to serve people of all ages, including budding entrepreneurs.”
He describes an ideal centre as an agent of change in the community it serves, from offering courses to becoming the focal driver of the community’s progress.
“Today each centre is designed to be an information repository where success stories and expertise honed by members of the community are documented and highlighted to the world,” he says.
“We also want the centres to be a hub for innovation, connectivity and network, entrepreneurship and e-commerce as well as a place for lifelong learning.”
Besides basic ICT skills, other courses are also offered at all the centres. MCMC has also collaborated with a local academic institution to offer community a path to attend training modules to attain certifications.
KAMPUNG GONG CHENGAL
The Kampung Gong Chengal centre is among the projects under MCMC’s Universal Service Provision initiative to ensure all Malaysians acquire the necessary ICT competencies towards building a knowledge society.
It is built through MCMC’s partnership with telco operator, DiGi, with 20 touch screen computers. Half of these are used for surfing and the rest are placed in a classroom setup that’s equipped with a projector.
Centre manager Nini Faressa Baharudin, 27, says she is one of the first to benefit from the setting up of the PI1M centre in Kampung Gong Chengal. The mathematical science graduate from International Islamic University Malaysia says it’s a rare opportunity to be able to further her career in her hometown.
“This centre is meant for the villagers and those in the surrounding communities. Kampung Gong Chengal has a population of 680 and with 435 registered members, we’ve already achieved the 50 per cent target set during the opening last year. Our youngest member is 5 and the oldest is 71,” she says.
CHANGING LIVES
Mustafa Ab Rahman, Village Development and Security Committee chairman notes that seeing the village's youth embracing the digital lifestyle is rewarding. "Though it has been less than a year, it's great to see this place now bustling with activities. The people becoming so empowered with new skills. The youths seems lost before this but now they have a place to go to learn and interact. Even the matured users are benefiting from ICT, and I'm happy to note that we now have a few success stories emerging from Kampung Gong Chengal already," shares Mustafa.
One success story is Shamsiah Ibrahim, 43, who has been running a frozen food business since 2004.
“I am an entrepreneur under the Ministry of Agriculture’s cottage industry. While I’ve been getting a lot of help in terms of developing and ensuring the quality of my products, it has been tough to market beyond Kemaman. I used to go from one shop to the next with samples but at times, to make even RM300 a month, is tough,” she says.
Shamsiah now markets 29 products, including curry puff and doughnuts, via Facebook and her blog. She interacts with customers through WhatsApp. She goes to the centre once a week and today, she can easily earn RM5,000 a month. Malaysia currently has 67 per cent broadband penetration rate. Learn more about MCMC’s Universal Service Provision (USP) initiatives at usp.skmm.gov.my.