This article appeared in The Vibes on 26 May 2022.

KUALA LUMPUR – The government has not made a decision on the proposal by Malaysia’s four largest telecommunications companies (telcos) seeking a 51% majority stake in the state 5G agency Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB), said Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa.

He said the matter will be discussed with Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz and the government will respond on the request made by the telcos as soon as possible.

“When we made the offer, we had thought over what we should do many times. We want the industry to grow and must create a level playing field. It cannot be the rule of the jungle, survival of the fittest. 

“We must make sure the industry grows and in order for it to grow, we must give a fair chance to everyone. Now certain telcos want to merge, it is okay – it is their business decision,” he said at the press conference after the “Yes 5G for All” launch event here today.

He said this in response to a news article regarding the proposal made by four Malaysian telecommunications companies.

When asked whether he is confident that the four telcos – Celcom, DiGi, Maxis and U Mobile – will be able to meet the deadline by June 30, Annuar said: “I am not going to wait for anybody...it is up to them to decide.”

He reiterated that the deadline remains the same as the government cannot continue to haggle, burdening DNB with problems moving on, as it is under pressure to make sure the agency is able to deliver within a stipulated time frame. 

“Of course they may not get the best deal based on what they actually requested, but you cannot have everything in accordance to just one group of operators, they have to look at many perspectives.

“Negotiations in terms of pricing have been going on for quite some time and certain price indications in fact has more or less been agreed between the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and DNB.

“The government had also made an announcement in Parliament that the wholesale price cannot be more than 20 sen (per gigabyte). We made it transparent to the public,” he said.

DNB was established in early March 2021 to accelerate deployment of 5G infrastructure and network in Malaysia. It will offer 5G as a wholesale network service to other telcos.

Also present at the launch event were YTL Communications chief executive officer Wing K. Lee and MCMC chairman Datuk Fadhlullah Suhaimi Abdul Malek.