ABANG JOHARI CALLS FOR NEW, ENGAGING APPROACH OF KNOWLEDGE DELIVERY TO RURAL COMMUNITIES

KUCHING, May 21 (Bernama) -- The delivery of knowledge to rural communities must be approached in new, more engaging and entertaining ways in line with changing times and technological advancements, says Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.

He said this effort was crucial to ensure that rural populations were not left behind in the digital age, particularly in terms of literacy and access to academic reading materials.

“The new approach now is to make it interesting and entertaining for ‘orang kampung’ (villagers). If they are just reading, they’ll get bored. There has to be interaction in how we deliver knowledge,” he said in his speech at the 25th anniversary celebration of the Sarawak State Library tonight.

He also cited the success of the Sumbangan Keperluan Asas Sarawak (SKAS) financial assistance programme, which showed that the B40 group in villages was capable of using technology for online payments, indicating their level of digital literacy and ability to access information.

“We have been informed that 86 per cent (of those eligible for SKAS) have registered and are using online payment... this means that if we teach them, orang kampung can also access literature online,” he said.

Abang Johari said the Sarawak government had also approved funding to build a new and more modern state archive building as part of its ongoing commitment to preserve the state's important historical records.

“It is important for us to safeguard our heritage. That’s why the government has approved a new archive building. I believe this will be the most advanced archive facility in the region,” he said.

He said key documents related to Sarawak, such as the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) previously obtained from London, would be stored in the new archive for official reference.

“I brought the documents from the Historical Museum archive in London back here, and I have requested that they be kept in our archive for reference purposes,” he added.

-- BERNAMA