Lively atmosphere at WTC, Malaysian public excited to witness launch of MEASAT-3d

KUALA LUMPUR: Although they are not in Kourou, French Guiana, South America, the Malaysian public who are present at the World Trade Centre here are as excited as they can be to witness the launch of the country's newest satellite, MEASAT-3d today.

As early as 3 am, approximately 600 guests including Cabinet ministers, senior government officers, civil servants, students and media practitioners have been flocking to the Dewan Merdeka, WTC, to watch the launch of MEASAT-3d which will be streamed live from the European Spaceport in French Guiana.

The early morning atmosphere became more lively with the presence of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob who arrived at 4.36 am, accompanied by Minister of Communications and Multimedia Tan Sri Annuar Musa and his deputy Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin to witness the launch of the most advanced satellite in MEASAT's fleet.

Among Cabinet ministers in attendance were Senior Minister of Education Datuk Radzi Jidin, Technology and Innovation Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba, Minister of Finance Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, Minister of Science, Minister of Youth and Sports Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, Minister of Transport Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong and Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.

Also present were chairman of Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd Tunku Ali Redhauddin Tuanku Muhriz and MEASAT director Rezza Hassan.

In conjunction with the launch, an exhibition of Malaysia's 25 years of innovation in broadcasting and telecommunications was also held.

MEASAT-3d, which was launched on the Ariane 5 rocket, is expected to bridge the digital connectivity gap and shape a better connectivity future for Malaysians in line with the government's initiatives through the National Digital Network (JENDELA) plan.

The satellite will expand the coverage of high-speed internet to remote areas that do not have a connection so as to reach 100 per cent of internet connectivity, thus enabling people to enjoy better internet services.

-- BERNAMA