Sabah first to implement Nadi ambassador initiative to boost digital literacy
Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said 50 volunteers, comprising students from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), were selected to participate in the programme, which is being introduced for the first time by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), in collaboration with UMS and the Yayasan Sukarelawan Siswa.
He said that the Nadi ambassadors will also assist MCMC in raising public awareness on cyber safety through the Safe Internet Campaign, by engaging with residents' associations and school students in their respective areas, to promote responsible and ethical internet use.
"Sabah was chosen, among other reasons, because during the Covid-19 pandemic, it was one of the states which faced significant internet infrastructure challenges ," he told reporters, after officiating the Sabah Nadi Ambassador programme at UMS, today.
Fahmi said that there are currently 131 Nadi centres across Sabah, and the selected ambassadors will undergo a two-day training session to support digital literacy efforts, and help extend the benefits of these centres to the wider community.
He added that the student volunteers from UMS were drawn from various academic disciplines, with the selection process jointly carried out by MCMC and the university.
Fahmi also expressed hope that the participation of UMS students in the programme would serve as a platform for them to provide input and suggestions for improving telecommunications services in Sabah.
He said that the Nadi Ambassador initiative will eventually be expanded to universities nationwide, in collaboration with student representative councils.
Meanwhile, the MCMC, in a statement, announced that selected volunteers who successfully passed the screening process will undergo a two-day Training of Trainers (TOT) workshop, beginning tomorrow, at UMS.
Upon completion, they will be appointed as Nadi Ambassadors, tasked with delivering briefings to local communities, including primary and secondary school students, parents, teachers, and entrepreneurs, who participate in various programmes at Nadi centres.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Rise of the machines in China
When Sun Huihai first began working at a factory in the southern manufacturing belt of Guangdong some 13 years ago, his colleagues were all humans. Now, they are joined by more than 200 robots which can work around the clock, seven days a week, to help produce air-conditioners for home appliances giant Midea. Rows of bright orange robot arms whir at all hours of the day, fishing freshly pressed plastic parts out of hot metal moulds and onto a long conveyor belt. Driverless robots with blinking lights store these parts in a multi-storey warehouse, and later take them to be assembled into units that are sold in China and around the world. The number of robots put to work on the factory floor increases every year, said Sun, 37, who heads the plant's engineering department. 'Every day, we think about how to upgrade and make manufacturing here more intelligent,' he said. Scenes like this have become more common across China, as the 'factory of the world' turns to robotics to sustain and turbocharge its manufacturing juggernaut. Over the past decade, the number of industrial robots on China's factory floors has increased more than six times to over 1.7 million, as companies grappled with rising wages and a shortage of workers willing to staff production lines. China now has the world's third-highest density of robots in its manufacturing industry, trailing South Korea and Singapore in first and second place respectively, according to the International Federation of Robotics' figures for 2023, the latest available. Their deployment is poised to increase further as China continues its transition from low-value, labour-intensive production to advanced manufacturing – a national priority. Policymakers in China, wary of the hollowing out of industries which can occur when countries get richer, have long pushed for greater automation to keep factories competitive. Factories in China pumped out nearly 370,000 of industrial robots in the first half of 2025, up 35.6% from the previous year, according to figures from the National Bureau of Statistics. But as robot adoption picks up pace, one question that arises is: What will happen to the more than 100 million workers whom China's manufacturing sector employs? Academics Nicole Wu and Sun Zhongwei, who interviewed and surveyed factory workers in southern China just prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, found that these individuals were not too concerned about robots just yet. 'Contrary to the more pessimistic assessments of automation, most manufacturing workers in Guangdong – who are buffered by steady increases in demand and a chronic labour shortage – appear to be unfazed by technological change at present,' they wrote in a paper published this year. Back at the Midea factory, Wang Liangcai, 26, an engineer, believes that his job is safe from automation for now. 'Equipment still needs to be maintained, it can't do so itself,' he said. 'But if you think about the long run ... we also don't know how things will be.' — The Straits Times/ANN
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Powering trade and economic prosperity through data free flow
When considering the free flow of data, a common misconception is that it comes at the expense of data sovereignty and security. — 123rf MALAYSIA is helming the Asean chairmanship this year, marking a significant milestone for the nation, with a clear opportunity to chart shared prosperity for the bloc. In light of geopolitical tensions and tariff uncertainties globally, fostering stronger partnerships in this environment would pay dividends in continuing to lift regional economies. One way to tackle both objectives is by facilitating trade – perhaps not in the traditional sense of import and export of goods as most would think, but instead through cross border data flows, which is increasingly the invisible lifeblood of economies in the region and beyond. The upside of open data flows is compelling – the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) indicates global GDP can expand by 1.77% and exports by 3.6% if open data flow is adopted around the world. The catch? To get there requires clarity and collaboration across borders. When considering the free flow of data, a common misconception is that it comes at the expense of data sovereignty and security. In practice, this is not the case. The Covid-19 pandemic disruption to global supply chains offers a pertinent case-in-point: interconnectivity, be it of goods or data, drives growth. It is possible to advocate for data free flow while also having regard to data privacy, security, and intellectual property concerns. At its core, data security is dependent on how data is maintained and not the location where it is stored. This highlights the importance of governments in establishing robust privacy and data security regulations as well as appropriate infrastructure to ensure responsible use of data. It is possible to advocate for data free flow while also having regard for data privacy, security, and intellectual property concerns, says Cen. Another arena is around trade agreements – which have historically helped facilitate collaboration and boost economies of nations involved. Digital trade has overtaken traditional trade in economic value for more than a decade now, highlighting the growing need for trade policy to include guidance on robust treatment, security, and sharing of cross-border data. Regulatory progress notwithstanding, advocating for data free flow should continue to be a priority for markets throughout the region, including Malaysia, who stands to benefit. This opportunity comes down to trust and collaboration between states – including their respective governments, regulators, and businesses. The good news is that we're seeing the region chart progress in this respect, particularly with Asean's new Digital Economy Framework Agreement (Defa) currently under negotiation. The Defa's mandate is to create an open, secure, and inclusive digital economy of tomorrow for the nearly 680 million people in South-East Asia, and cross border data flow is a critical element in achieving this ambitious goal. With the right checks and balances, it is possible to establish data free flow with trust that can establish greater openness that powers markets and, ultimately, creates greater prosperity for the greater good. The digital economy is projected to reach US$16.5 trillion (RM70.6 trillion) and capture 17% of global GDP by 2028. South-East Asia is best positioned to capitalise on this growth with one of the world's highest mobile penetration rates at 136%, and with its digital economy projected to double to US$2 trillion (RM8.6 trillion) by 2030. Markets and venture capital already see the unique opportunity here: digital economy-related investments make up 71% of deals in Asean – 10% higher than the global average. The situation on the ground in Malaysia is equally promising, with investor confidence, innovation and a strong ecosystem pushing digital investments by 125% to RM29.47bil in the second quarter of 2025. All the signs are that the digital economy will facilitate the next wave of prosperity for the region – and the ways in which data is shared and managed have an outsized impact in shaping that wave. Malaysia has a unique opportunity to drive the data agenda that simultaneously benefits the country and the wider region. It can make its mark as Asean Chair by advocating for cross-border data flows on behalf of the bloc. — Bloomberg Kelvin Cen is the Head of South-East Asia at Bloomberg. He oversees 11 markets across the region, driving strategy and business development and strengthening the firm's key client relationships in the region. In his 14-year career with Bloomberg, Cen has held several leadership roles, including co-leading the APAC Corporations and Commodities business and, most recently, serving as the COO for Asia Pacific. The views expressed here are solely the writer's own.
The Star
a day ago
- The Star
Using AI play for early growth
Game changer uses technology to tackle development issues in children PETALING JAYA: As a child, Tokyo-born Shun Matsuzaka had boundless love for learning, but that passion rarely reflected in his grades, as he struggled to achieve good results. It wasn't until he was 19, during his foundation year at a university in the United Kingdom, that he was diagnosed with dyslexia. This changed not just his life but also shaped his ambition to help other children going through what he had to go through. Having moved to Malaysia in 2017, Matsuzaka, along with his partner Masaki Ishibashi, founded TOY8 in 2018, a social impact venture designed to unlock every child's potential through play and data. Together, they planned to establish an AI-powered playground in 2020 in a 45,000sq ft (4,180sq m) space at a mall in Kuala Lumpur. Filled with motion sensors and cameras, the playground would allow them to observe children's play and extract insights into their cognitive and motor strengths, which would then be explained to the parents if any issues were found. Sadly, the plan was derailed even before it could take off following the Covid-19 pandemic. TOY8 co-founder Matsuzaka. Defeated but not beaten, Matsuzaka was then inspired by a letter he received from the Tokyo city office – an invitation for his daughter to attend a mandatory three-year-old developmental screening. 'It was then I realised that while this was standard practice in Japan, Malaysia had no equivalent system for those aged between three and six – a gap in the most crucial window of brain development. 'Most parents had no structured way to know whether their child's development was on track or not and this gap, between the need for early detection and the absence of reliable access, became our new focus,' he said. Matsuzaka and his team then developed the first AI-powered, gamified screening and intervention system in Malaysia in 2022 in collaboration with Sunway University, Universiti Malaya, the Health Ministry Clinical Research Centre and a former Nintendo game director. The system utilised smartphone-based games to screen five core domains of development – language, cognition, fine and gross motor skills and social-emotional abilities. 'These games are intentionally designed to be exciting, intuitive and culturally relevant, enabling teachers in preschools and kindergartens to conduct reliable developmental checks during classroom time without requiring clinical expertise. 'If a child is flagged for mild or moderate developmental support needs, they can be supported through the TOY8 intervention programme, which offers over 3,000 plus fun game activities personalised to the child's profile. 'These interventions can then be delivered at school or home with the guidance of trained educators or caregivers,' Matsuzaka said. Matsuzaka also said TOY8's system empowers teachers with technology, not only to screen and support children but also to actively participate in the reduction of developmental inequality. 'Instead of relying solely on overburdened specialists, we shifted part of the responsibility to well-equipped preschool classrooms, ensuring that more children are identified early and supported effectively during the brain's most critical years of development.' Since its inception, TOY8 has screened over 15,000 children across Malaysia and other Asean countries with Sarawak becoming one of the first Malaysian states to adopt the model at scale in 2023. By integrating digital screening into its public preschools, the state now stands as a beacon of inclusive early education, not just in Malaysia but for the entire Asean region. 'By the end of the year, our programme in Sarawak will expand to screen 600 children, supported by a growing network of trained educators and interventionists. 'We are now hoping to present the Sarawak model as a regional policy proposal at the 2025 Asean Business Summit under the Inclusive Education 2.0 framework, as well as expand our reach to other Asean countries,' he added. Meanwhile, the Star Golden Hearts Award (SGHA) returns for the 11th edition to honour everyday Malaysians whose compassion and selflessness have made a lasting impact on others. With McDonald's Malaysia as the new strategic partner, SGHA is poised to broaden its reach and deepen its impact nationwide. This year also marks the debut of the McDonald's Caring Hearts Award – a special recognition honouring individuals or grassroots groups whose heartfelt acts of kindness have uplifted lives in profound and lasting ways. Since its inception in 2015, SGHA has honoured over 100 individuals and organisations whose efforts have inspired action, transformed lives and strengthened communities nationwide.
