In June, a video of Veveonah Mosibin sitting for her exam on a treetop went viral in not just Malaysia, but even overseas.
At this time, many cities across the world were in various stages of a lockdown, businesses and offices were closed, campuses and schools were no-go zones, travel and commuting were prohibited, and the only way for many people to connect and continue working or studying was through the Internet. Its popularity was also due to the ease of use – once a host initiates a video call, he or she just has to share a link to invite others, and they don’t even need a Zoom account to join in.
Argentinian senator Juan Emilio Ameri was fired after he was caught on YouTube kissing his partner’s breast during a lower house congressional debate, while longtime New Yorker staff writer Jeffrey Toobin was fired after reportedly masturbating during a Zoom call.Meanwhile, here in Malaysia, Veveonah had become an instant social media star, and a rallying call for the government to seriously look into the digital divide between the haves and the have-nots.
This whole incident was a turning point of sorts. In August, Muhyiddin announced that a new national digital network called Jalinan Digital Negara would provide 96.9% of populated areas with a 4G mobile broadband network. "This will also involve the end of the 3G network in phases until 2021 to put up 4G as a platform for 5G," Muhyiddin said in his announcement.