Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's vision of turning Malaysia into a cyber nation remains to be seen as grassroots communities grapple with poverty and lack of opportunities.

A random interview at the recent ICT fair in Kepala Batas, Kedah, showed that Malaysians are yet to fully benefit from the grand vision of e-commerce and e-government programmes.

Met at Dewan Millenium, where the fair was held, Mazlinda Hassan, 32, expressed delight at the existence of a cyber city in her hometown but said her hope of owning a computer remained elusive.

"My budget does not permit me to own a computer .maybe five to seven years from now," said the factory worker.

"Now my priority is to bring up my daughter. My husband's income is also not so high and computers are really expensive," she added.

Penang is hosting the 9th Multimedia Super Corridor International Advisory Panel (MSC-IAP) meeting on Sept 7-10, beginning with the launch at the premier's home state and constituency in Kepala Batas.

Narrow the divide

In his speech at the launch on Wednesday, Abdullah said his administration wanted to narrow the digital divide in Malaysia and will not allow it to become another factor of poverty among the grassroots.

He said the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) created at least 2,000 job opportunities for IT graduates and cyber cities will be expanded to other parts of Malaysia, the next being Pahang and Sarawak.

Meanwhile, there are those who still claim that they could do without ICT and its necessity even eludes some graduates.

According to one graduate, who was looking for job opportunities at the IT fair, she did not need a computer after her university days.

Teng Cheng Lee, 25, said it was not necessary for her to own a computer as "I could easily walk into a cyber caf and use the net".

"I only need to use the internet when I want to send emails to my friends.What else do I need it for?" asked the unemployed communications graduate.

"I used it before during my studying days, but the need for it ended with my education," she added.

Younger generation

On Wednesday, Abdullah also launched the 'E-Community Showcase' which exhibits projects using ICT by the local community.

"These projects show that ICT is not only for those living in urban areas, but for all Malaysians," he said in his opening speech.

But if urban residents do not find it necessary to own a computer, what about rural folks?

Food vendor, Hazlinda Mayan, 45, said ICT would probably benefit the "future generation" like her three young children.

"I work a lot with my hands, I need time, and currently I have no time to learn about computers or how to use it," said the business woman who hails from Kedah.

"But my children would have the opportunity as they have started to teach IT even in primary schools," she added.