Digital divide: an inquiry on the native communities of Sabah
ICT development has become the development pulse of the global nation. Malaysia, as a developing nation, has invested heavily in ICT development across the country to ensure no one is left behind. The policymakers have also claimed a positive result in closing the digital gap among their people. In...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI
2022
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| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/100967/ |
| _version_ | 1848863459356180480 |
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| author | Fang, Yi Xue Gill, Sarjit S. Kunasekaran, Puvaneswaran Rosnon, Mohd Roslan Talib, Ahmad Tarmizi Abd Aziz, Azureen |
| author_facet | Fang, Yi Xue Gill, Sarjit S. Kunasekaran, Puvaneswaran Rosnon, Mohd Roslan Talib, Ahmad Tarmizi Abd Aziz, Azureen |
| author_sort | Fang, Yi Xue |
| building | UPM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | ICT development has become the development pulse of the global nation. Malaysia, as a developing nation, has invested heavily in ICT development across the country to ensure no one is left behind. The policymakers have also claimed a positive result in closing the digital gap among their people. In this study, Van Dijk’s theory of digital divide is explored on the four dimensions of digital divide (motivation, physical, skill, and usage) among the native people in Sabah. A focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted among 21 key informants from seven different ethnic groups to identify the issues of ICT development in their community. The findings showed that the existence of a digital gap between the rural and the urban area community caused the community to be saddled with the connection to telecommunication service, including landline and internet. Despite lacking, the native community were receptive and willing to adopt the ICT positively for their daily activities. While the theory of digital divide observes that the physical access divide is narrowing in most developed nations, this study shows that is not the case for developing countries, such as Malaysia. The inequality in digital access is prevalent among the natives in Sabah, which could result in the opportunity to participate in important democratic decision-making. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T13:33:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | upm-100967 |
| institution | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T13:33:15Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publisher | MDPI |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | upm-1009672023-07-13T07:29:03Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/100967/ Digital divide: an inquiry on the native communities of Sabah Fang, Yi Xue Gill, Sarjit S. Kunasekaran, Puvaneswaran Rosnon, Mohd Roslan Talib, Ahmad Tarmizi Abd Aziz, Azureen ICT development has become the development pulse of the global nation. Malaysia, as a developing nation, has invested heavily in ICT development across the country to ensure no one is left behind. The policymakers have also claimed a positive result in closing the digital gap among their people. In this study, Van Dijk’s theory of digital divide is explored on the four dimensions of digital divide (motivation, physical, skill, and usage) among the native people in Sabah. A focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted among 21 key informants from seven different ethnic groups to identify the issues of ICT development in their community. The findings showed that the existence of a digital gap between the rural and the urban area community caused the community to be saddled with the connection to telecommunication service, including landline and internet. Despite lacking, the native community were receptive and willing to adopt the ICT positively for their daily activities. While the theory of digital divide observes that the physical access divide is narrowing in most developed nations, this study shows that is not the case for developing countries, such as Malaysia. The inequality in digital access is prevalent among the natives in Sabah, which could result in the opportunity to participate in important democratic decision-making. MDPI 2022-10-26 Article PeerReviewed Fang, Yi Xue and Gill, Sarjit S. and Kunasekaran, Puvaneswaran and Rosnon, Mohd Roslan and Talib, Ahmad Tarmizi and Abd Aziz, Azureen (2022) Digital divide: an inquiry on the native communities of Sabah. Societies, 12 (6). art. no. 148. pp. 1-22. ISSN 2075-4698 https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/12/6/148 10.3390/soc12060148 |
| spellingShingle | Fang, Yi Xue Gill, Sarjit S. Kunasekaran, Puvaneswaran Rosnon, Mohd Roslan Talib, Ahmad Tarmizi Abd Aziz, Azureen Digital divide: an inquiry on the native communities of Sabah |
| title | Digital divide: an inquiry on the native communities of Sabah |
| title_full | Digital divide: an inquiry on the native communities of Sabah |
| title_fullStr | Digital divide: an inquiry on the native communities of Sabah |
| title_full_unstemmed | Digital divide: an inquiry on the native communities of Sabah |
| title_short | Digital divide: an inquiry on the native communities of Sabah |
| title_sort | digital divide: an inquiry on the native communities of sabah |
| url | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/100967/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/100967/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/100967/ |