EARLY EDUCATION APPROACH TO COMBAT VANDALISM OF UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE
BINTULU, Oct 25 (Bernama) -- The Sarawak Ministry of Utility and Telecommunication is taking an early education approach in its efforts to combat vandalism of the state’s utility infrastructure.
Its Minister, Datuk Seri Julaihi Narawi said that through this initiative, intervention and early awareness could be provided to young students about the importance of such infrastructure to residents of certain areas.
He added that the educational approach had been initiated at the Sekolah Seni Malaysia Sarawak in Kuching and Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Sematan.
"We admit that it is difficult to totally eliminate vandalism, so what we can do is to reduce or minimise such activities through early education,” he told reporters after visiting the Digital Economy Centre (PEDi) in Kuala Tatau here today.
Elaborating, Julaihi said that vandalism to utility infrastructure such as water supply, electricity and communications is among the major challenges faced by the ministry in recent years.
"For example, in one case, we found a communication tower that was not yet operational but the copper parts were already cut and stolen, these are the challenges we face," he said.
On Oct 12, the Sarawak Ministry of Utility and Telecommunications announced that it would consider using the latest technology to combat vandalism of state utility infrastructure, which has resulted in losses amounting to millions of ringgit.
The ministry said in a press statement that this was among the topics discussed in the Telecommunications Coordination Committee Meeting (TCCM) 2023.
-- BERNAMA
