KUDAT, May 20 (Bernama) -- Being highly secluded and separated from the Sabah mainland was not a factor for the National Information Dissemination (NADI) Centre on Banggi Island from gaining international recognition.
Last year, the Banggi Island NADI Centre was named the winning project of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Prizes 2025 under the Capacity Building category, a prestigious award from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) deputy managing director (Development) Eneng Faridah Iskandar said the award was a global recognition of the efforts undertaken through the NADI network to empower communities through digital technology.
“This achievement should inspire all 1,099 NADI centres nationwide to continue serving as community digitalisation hubs, particularly in providing digital access, training and information on government initiatives for rural communities,” she told Bernama recently.
Eneng Faridah said NADI operates based on five core pillars, namely entrepreneurship, lifelong learning, self-wellbeing, awareness and information dissemination.
“We hope this recognition, together with the endorsement from the Prime Minister himself, will further motivate NADI personnel and surrounding communities to continue making full use of these centres,” she said.
Meanwhile, Banggi Island NADI Centre manager, Borhan Resaldi, described the global recognition as a major source of pride for the local community, as it is the only information dissemination centre operating on the island.
He said one of the centre’s most popular initiatives was the People’s Tuition programme, aided by its strategic location near Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Banggi, one of the island’s main secondary schools.
According to Borhan, Banggi Island has 16 schools, including 14 primary schools, making NADI a critical supplementary learning space for students.
He said the tuition programme is offered through three formats, namely live webinars, video-on-demand (VOD) lessons and revision sessions, all conducted by experienced teachers.
The programme focuses on core subjects such as Mathematics, English, History and Bahasa Melayu, as well as General Studies for Sixth Form students, while also helping to expand NADI membership, he said.
Borhan said Banggi Island NADI Centre currently has 285 members, most of whom are students and members of the local community.
He said that the centre planned to expand outreach efforts by visiting schools and collaborating with related departments and agencies.
“That effort is important to reach more students and encourage greater participation as NADI members, particularly within the island’s education community,” he said, adding that the success of the centre in Banggi Island should serve as a model for other rural and island communities in expanding the benefits of digitalisation to the public.
Located about 70 kilometres from mainland Kudat, Banggi Island spans 621 square kilometres and is home to about 30,000 residents, most of whom depend on fishing, oil palm cultivation and rubber farming as their main sources of income.
Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) deputy managing director (Development) Eneng Faridah Iskandar said the award was a global recognition of the efforts undertaken through the NADI network to empower communities through digital technology.
“This achievement should inspire all 1,099 NADI centres nationwide to continue serving as community digitalisation hubs, particularly in providing digital access, training and information on government initiatives for rural communities,” she told Bernama recently.
Eneng Faridah said NADI operates based on five core pillars, namely entrepreneurship, lifelong learning, self-wellbeing, awareness and information dissemination.
“We hope this recognition, together with the endorsement from the Prime Minister himself, will further motivate NADI personnel and surrounding communities to continue making full use of these centres,” she said.
Meanwhile, Banggi Island NADI Centre manager, Borhan Resaldi, described the global recognition as a major source of pride for the local community, as it is the only information dissemination centre operating on the island.
He said one of the centre’s most popular initiatives was the People’s Tuition programme, aided by its strategic location near Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Banggi, one of the island’s main secondary schools.
According to Borhan, Banggi Island has 16 schools, including 14 primary schools, making NADI a critical supplementary learning space for students.
He said the tuition programme is offered through three formats, namely live webinars, video-on-demand (VOD) lessons and revision sessions, all conducted by experienced teachers.
The programme focuses on core subjects such as Mathematics, English, History and Bahasa Melayu, as well as General Studies for Sixth Form students, while also helping to expand NADI membership, he said.
Borhan said Banggi Island NADI Centre currently has 285 members, most of whom are students and members of the local community.
He said that the centre planned to expand outreach efforts by visiting schools and collaborating with related departments and agencies.
“That effort is important to reach more students and encourage greater participation as NADI members, particularly within the island’s education community,” he said, adding that the success of the centre in Banggi Island should serve as a model for other rural and island communities in expanding the benefits of digitalisation to the public.
Located about 70 kilometres from mainland Kudat, Banggi Island spans 621 square kilometres and is home to about 30,000 residents, most of whom depend on fishing, oil palm cultivation and rubber farming as their main sources of income.