Pulau Banggi NADI Spurs Digital Economic Development In Rural Sabah

KUDAT, Aug 10 (Bernama) -- The National Information Dissemination Centre (NADI) in Pulau Banggi here will spur digital economic development in rural Sabah, Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said.

He said the initiative provides high-speed internet access, which will help reduce the migration of local residents to major cities and improve the standard of living of the community.

“NADI plays an important role in our efforts to bring Sabah into the digital era by providing internet access, digital skills training and access to information to rural communities that have long been left behind in the development mainstream,” he said when visiting the centre today.

The island is home to some 20,000 residents whose main economic activities are fishing as well as oil palm and rubber cultivation.

Fahmi said the Starlink technology used at the centre provides high-speed internet access of up to 100 Mbps, opening up new opportunities for the local population in the digital economy.

“With this facility, the youth of Pulau Banggi no longer need to migrate to Kota Kinabalu or Kuala Lumpur as they can utilise their digital expertise to earn an income here,” he said.

According to Fahmi, the Pulau Banggi NADI initiative, which is part of the Malaysia’s NADI Digital Inclusive Project, was named the winner of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Prizes 2025 in the Capacity Building category.

“This international recognition demonstrates the government’s commitment to ensuring that no community is left out of the nation’s digitalisation drive, in line with the Sabah Maju Jaya policy,” he added.

During the visit, Fahmi also announced a series of follow-up visits to Pulau Banggi to look into other aspects of development to ensure that digital progress in the area can be fully utilised by the local population.

-- BERNAMA