Sarawak’s digital transformation, Smart 600 project and AI ambitions
By Charlotte Kan
Mar 23, 2026
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Charlotte Kan, TelecomTV (00:07):
Thank you for joining us in the Huawei space here at Mobile World Congress 2026, where I am delighted to be joined by Tan Sri Datuk Amar Haji Mohamad Morshidi, who is Chairman at Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC). Thank you for joining us today.
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Haji Mohamad Morshidi, SDEC (00:26):
Yes, welcome.
Charlotte Kan, TelecomTV (00:27):
So Tan Sri, the Sarawak state government has formulated the Digital Economy Blueprint 2030. What significant achievements has it made so far in your Smart 600 project?
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Haji Mohamad Morshidi, SDEC (00:41):
Thank you, Charlotte, for having me, and thank you always for having me. Under the framework of our Sarawak digital economy, digital economy target for 2030 blueprint, we have achieved quite a transformative result, executing a strategy that connects infrastructure with tangible socio-economic impact. The cornerstone of this success is our Smart 600 project, a holistic blueprint for digital inclusion. Project engineering achievement is clear. The construction of our 600 communication towers has brought connectivity to over 1,000 previously underserved locations, and we have managed to reach about 180,000 residents in remote areas. This infrastructure is powered by an innovative shared access model, which was developed by us and enables sustainable connectivity to various challenging terrains. The true measure of success lies in two areas. One is education, and number two is the economy. And number three is, of course, connectivity to people in terms of governance of protecting it.
(02:08):
In education, our people are able to reach and to study because we have 600 connected towers and people are able to access education, training and learning remotely online, which they did not have before. In the economy, we are able to get our remote people to promote their products on e-commerce. So generally, these are the benefits of how we have brought about the infrastructure, the 600 towers under infrastructure.
Charlotte Kan, TelecomTV (02:48):
What cooperation do you have with Huawei in your digital transformation process?
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Haji Mohamad Morshidi, SDEC (02:53):
Our journey with Huawei goes a long way. We started in 2017 when we wanted to embark on the digital economy, and we opened up to various partners to help us. But Huawei came to the forefront and they brought a lot of technology and guided us on the digital economy journey. We are quite happy that they have brought a lot of technology, the most advanced technology for us to use and to relate it to the people. The most important thing about the digital economy to us is about how the people benefit from it, how you can improve the lives and the working life of the people in Sarawak.
Charlotte Kan, TelecomTV (03:44):
Finally, we are in this era of fast development of technology with AI. What are your expectations in terms of Sarawak's intelligent development? What does it change?
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Haji Mohamad Morshidi, SDEC (03:55):
I have said this many times. AI is just another process, another level of advancement of technology. We cannot be behind because we need to progress to use AI to make the place, the country, more advanced, and people can use it to benefit themselves. We envisage that we should be a premier AI state by 2027, and henceforth, probably we can reach the ASEAN level as a premier AI centre. Of course, this will bring about a lot of change to Sarawak. At SDEC, we are having data centres, including green data centres, and these data centres will be developed at a centre at a park and we have capacity of about 200 megawatts of power. We have an AI computational hub in the same area. Our aim is to transform industries such as healthcare and agriculture through technologies like generative AI and to promote widespread adoption of AI across the state.
(05:08):
The newly launched facilities include our global AI centre and AI large language model lab, and also our digital lab through the Centre of Technology Excellence (CENTEXS), which will enable AI talent to support the Sarawak intelligent transformation.
Charlotte Kan, TelecomTV (05:26):
Very high ambitions when it comes to AI adoption, deployment, and capabilities. We wish you the best in your endeavours. Thank you very much, Tan Sri. Thank you.
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Haji Mohamad Morshidi, SDEC (05:35):
Thank you, Charlotte. Thank you for your time.
Thank you for joining us in the Huawei space here at Mobile World Congress 2026, where I am delighted to be joined by Tan Sri Datuk Amar Haji Mohamad Morshidi, who is Chairman at Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC). Thank you for joining us today.
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Haji Mohamad Morshidi, SDEC (00:26):
Yes, welcome.
Charlotte Kan, TelecomTV (00:27):
So Tan Sri, the Sarawak state government has formulated the Digital Economy Blueprint 2030. What significant achievements has it made so far in your Smart 600 project?
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Haji Mohamad Morshidi, SDEC (00:41):
Thank you, Charlotte, for having me, and thank you always for having me. Under the framework of our Sarawak digital economy, digital economy target for 2030 blueprint, we have achieved quite a transformative result, executing a strategy that connects infrastructure with tangible socio-economic impact. The cornerstone of this success is our Smart 600 project, a holistic blueprint for digital inclusion. Project engineering achievement is clear. The construction of our 600 communication towers has brought connectivity to over 1,000 previously underserved locations, and we have managed to reach about 180,000 residents in remote areas. This infrastructure is powered by an innovative shared access model, which was developed by us and enables sustainable connectivity to various challenging terrains. The true measure of success lies in two areas. One is education, and number two is the economy. And number three is, of course, connectivity to people in terms of governance of protecting it.
(02:08):
In education, our people are able to reach and to study because we have 600 connected towers and people are able to access education, training and learning remotely online, which they did not have before. In the economy, we are able to get our remote people to promote their products on e-commerce. So generally, these are the benefits of how we have brought about the infrastructure, the 600 towers under infrastructure.
Charlotte Kan, TelecomTV (02:48):
What cooperation do you have with Huawei in your digital transformation process?
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Haji Mohamad Morshidi, SDEC (02:53):
Our journey with Huawei goes a long way. We started in 2017 when we wanted to embark on the digital economy, and we opened up to various partners to help us. But Huawei came to the forefront and they brought a lot of technology and guided us on the digital economy journey. We are quite happy that they have brought a lot of technology, the most advanced technology for us to use and to relate it to the people. The most important thing about the digital economy to us is about how the people benefit from it, how you can improve the lives and the working life of the people in Sarawak.
Charlotte Kan, TelecomTV (03:44):
Finally, we are in this era of fast development of technology with AI. What are your expectations in terms of Sarawak's intelligent development? What does it change?
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Haji Mohamad Morshidi, SDEC (03:55):
I have said this many times. AI is just another process, another level of advancement of technology. We cannot be behind because we need to progress to use AI to make the place, the country, more advanced, and people can use it to benefit themselves. We envisage that we should be a premier AI state by 2027, and henceforth, probably we can reach the ASEAN level as a premier AI centre. Of course, this will bring about a lot of change to Sarawak. At SDEC, we are having data centres, including green data centres, and these data centres will be developed at a centre at a park and we have capacity of about 200 megawatts of power. We have an AI computational hub in the same area. Our aim is to transform industries such as healthcare and agriculture through technologies like generative AI and to promote widespread adoption of AI across the state.
(05:08):
The newly launched facilities include our global AI centre and AI large language model lab, and also our digital lab through the Centre of Technology Excellence (CENTEXS), which will enable AI talent to support the Sarawak intelligent transformation.
Charlotte Kan, TelecomTV (05:26):
Very high ambitions when it comes to AI adoption, deployment, and capabilities. We wish you the best in your endeavours. Thank you very much, Tan Sri. Thank you.
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Haji Mohamad Morshidi, SDEC (05:35):
Thank you, Charlotte. Thank you for your time.
Please note that video transcripts are provided for reference only – content may vary from the published video or contain inaccuracies.
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Haji Mohamad Morshidi, Chairman, Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC)
The chairman of Malaysian’s government-owned Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation discusses the company’s Smart 600 project, which has delivered connectivity to over 1,000 underserved locations and 180,000 residents, its partnership with Huawei, and its ambitions for AI-driven development.
Recorded March 2026
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