Naza Communications Sdn Bhd, an integrated telecommunications infrastructure services provider (towerco) and subsidiary of Naza Corporation Holdings Sdn Bhd announced the NURI program last month, its rural empowerment initiative.
The NURI program is a multi-phase 3-year program which aims to empower rural communities in Malaysia by using mobile broadband as an enabler. Naza Communications plans to achieve its objective through 3 criteria: increase the income of selected rural communities through the mobile economy; utilize mobile apps in assisting the transformation of rural areas to uplift their well-being; and instill responsible Internet usage to promote lifelong learning and skills enhancement.
The NURI Program will be implemented in 200 villages across 80 locations nationwide which will be rolled out in 3 phases throughout a 36-month plan, with Northern and Eastern regions of Peninsula Malaysia and East Malaysia identified as suitable recipients, the company said.
The first phase of the NURI Program has already been carried out earlier this year at 10 villages:
- Kedah: Kampung Kuala Merah, Kampung Pong Utara Dalam, Kampung Pinang, Bukit Jagung, Kampung Alor Bt Selingsing, Kampung Felda Gunong Bongsu, Kampung Wang Perah, Kampung Kubang Lerek, and Kampung Kejai.
- Perak: Kampung Cheh Hulu
As part of its initiative, Naza Communications signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a number of partners including app developers Car Bengkel, Ezyhaul, Living Space, My Homestay Malaysia and the Telecommunications Engineering College (TEC) – to implement and accelerate the NURI Program.
“Malaysians are more connected to each other than ever before, and we aim to leverage on this connectivity to further enable and empower rural communities in Malaysia,” said Subhash Devan, Chief Operating Officer of Naza Communications. “It is for that reason Naza Communications is introducing the NURI Program to empower rural communities by bringing the knowledge and expertise that will help them to be connected to the rest of the world.”
“In accordance to the 11th Malaysia Plan, Naza Communications is taking the lead in improving the lives of fellow Malaysians by rapidly executing the NURI program – a high impact, low cost solution which is part of our National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS),” said SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin, Chairman and CEO of Naza Communications. “As Naza Corporation Holdings aligns itself with the government’s direction for Transformasi Nasional 2050 plan, we have identified the development of our rural communities as a crucial step towards advancing Malaysia into a developed nation 2050. Our rural communities are the heart of Malaysia, and we aim to offer them as much opportunities in the mobile economy as possible.”
As the telecommunications arm of Naza Corporation Holdings Sdn Bhd, Naza Communications aims to become a strategic enabler of mobile broadband for the rural community. Established in 2014, Naza Communications is licensed under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA) to provide integrated telecommunications infrastructure services, which include passive infrastructure rental, Tower Management, Network Design Capability/Periodic Benchmarking, Integrated Document Solutions.
