Instead of the tax relief given, the government should subsidise the cost of broadband access as well as the devices along the line of the line of the netbook package given for university students.

"This subsidy should be targeted at a broader audience especially those outside the tax net," said Intel Electronics (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd in a statement today.

According to Intel, the personal computer loan for civil servant is a boost towards increasing PC penetration in the country but a refresh period of three years would make a broader economic and social impact.

In the Budget tabled by Prime Minister Najib Razak yesterday, the government proposed tax relief for broadband subscription fee of up to RM500 from 2010 to 2012 while civil servants can now apply for computer loans up to a maximum of RM5,000 from the government once in every five years.

Intel said it hoped the 10th Malaysia Plan would help address the need to encourage competition and liberalisation among Internet services providers so that broadband cost and quality can be improved.

The software maker said the incentive given on 100,000 netbook bundle and netbook package at RM50 per month for two years for local university students was a great initiative to ignite computing and broadband adoption among students and hoped this could also be scaled out to students at all education levels.

"Intel had hoped for a stronger integration of information communication technology in education, particularly to drive learning in and outside of the classroom," it said.

The company also had expected more allocation for higher education research and strong collaboration between Malaysian universities and top-ranking engineering schools around the world.

On the other hand, Intel welcomed the government's move to simplify the movement of relevant skilled talents to Malaysia by simplifying the granting of permanent resident status to highly talented and skilled individuals to accelerate technology transfers.

High-speed broadband

Dell Global Business Centre Sdn Bhd's managing director Bobbi Dangerfield, meanwhile said the company applaud the government's announcement on the deployment of 10 megabit per second high-speed broadband nationwide beginning March next year as this would allow more Malaysians and local entrepreneurs to connect to and participate in an increasingly global and borderless economy.

He said that universal high-speed broadband connectivity would also certainly help the country towards overcoming the digital divide between urban and rural communities.

"As a global leader in providing green technology, we also thank the government for allocating RM1.5 billion to promote green technology," he said.

This soft loans, he said would help businesses to adopt energy efficient technologies, reduce carbon emissions and move the country towards a sustainable and environment-friendly economy.

The company also welcomed the continued priority placed on the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector with the allocation of RM350 million for soft loans and capacity enhancement as well as RM538 million for SME development programme.

"The allocation would enable SMEs to invest in technology, which can be a key differentiator for small medium businesses, not only during the current financial crisis but also when planning for the impending economic upturn," he added.

- Bernama

Bandwidth turning M'sia from ICT jewel to joke