The Department of Statistics has indicated that more than 90% of households in Malaysia have Internet access, where the household Internet penetration increased from 87% in 2018 to 90.1% in 2019.
However, as in other areas, educa�on sector has also taken a major blow due to the pandemic which gives an alarming signal to authori�es on improving the digital infrastructure. On 15th April 2020, in his media session, the Senior Minister of Educa�on YB. Datuk Dr. Mohd. Radzi bin Md. Jidin has shared some glaring findings of a survey conducted by his ministry in late March 2020 on nearly 900,000 of its students where circa 36.9% do not Malaysia is commi�ed to developing local high-skilled talents that is required in country’s growth, and hence in enhancing key sectors including smart ci�es development. In turn, smart ci�es ini�a�ves must also be inclusive especially in improving livelihood and means for the people to work and learn. Given the
have access to online learning due to the absence of devices such as pc, laptop or smartphones and do not have access to internet. Despite having more than 90% household with internet access, this does not mean thag there are no underlying, especially in rela�on to the adop�on of online learning. The situa�on is far more complex especially involving bigger households to cater the needs of parents and children to go digital. situa�on at hand, educa�on sector requires involvement from not just the government but the society and industry, especially in suppor�ng different kind of learning environment. A typical learning environment in a smart city can be described as follows:
01
02
03
Source: Adapted from “Smart learning environments for a smart city: from the perspective of lifelong and lifewide learning”.
COVID-19 has given painful lessons to the government, the industry as well as the people at large not to take ma�ers for granted. Proudly, Malaysia is among the most proac�ve country in the region in addressing the COVID-19 and cushion the impact of the restric�ons and caveats faced by the industry players and the people. However, many are s�ll suffering from the economic blow due to the pandemic and more must be done to help the people to recover, stay afloat and to move forward.
Thus, a smart city must rise above the norms in developing an environment that is agile, swi� in responding and more prepared in face of such threats and disasters, while also addresses the pressing need for access to proper educa�on via provisions of the necessary infrastructures and facilita�on via concerted efforts from the government, industries as well as the society as described above. This will also greatly assist the country in fulfilling the SDG4 aspira�ons, i.e., ensure inclusive and equitable quality educa�on and promote lifelong learning opportuni�es for all.
Malaysia Smart City Outlook 2021 - 2022 | 27
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