Free Internet for PPR residents

RESIDENTS at 25 People’s Housing Projects (PPR) in Johor will soon be able to enjoy free Internet through a special initiative by the state government, says state executive councillor Aznan Tamin.

The Johor education and information committee chairman said the initiative, dubbed WiFi Premium Maju Johor, was part of the state government’s effort to boost Internet connectivity.

“We have recently launched the WiFi Premium Maju Johor initiative, which includes providing free Internet facilities in 25 PPR.

“Under this initiative, free Internet will also be provided in several big hospitals, especially around the waiting area.

“We hope that this will benefit the public at large.

“This is some of the efforts the state government has undertaken to improve Internet connectivity in Johor, including at PPR,” he said when responding to a question during the “Sembang Santai” programme in Johor Baru.

Aznan said the initiative would be expanded further to include government offices such as the land and district offices.

“We will kickstart the project by the end of June and we expect it to be completed next month,” he said.

The programme was also attended by Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.

The question raised was about initiatives the state and Federal governments had taken to improve Internet connectivity, especially at residential sites such as PPR with the majority of people in the B40 category.

The WiFi Premium Maju Johor was among digitalisation efforts that were announced by Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi during the tabling of the state budget last year.

Meanwhile, when answering the same question, Fahmi said the Federal Government would be adding close to 200 National Information Dissemination Centres (Nadi) this year.

“Currently, there are 911 Nadi, previously known as the Digital Economy Centre (Pedi), across the country.

“This year, we will add another 186 centres to further boost Internet connectivity.”

He said Internet connectivity was a crucial issue that the Federal Government wanted to improve on, especially as Malaysia would be chairing the Asean summit next year.

“We want to provide smooth Internet connectivity around areas where meetings and programmes related to Asean are to be held,” said Fahmi.

“We will also have the Visit Malaysia Year in 2026, and we need to ensure that visitors are also able to enjoy good Internet access at our tourism spots,” he said.