PUTRAJAYA: A nationwide mapping exercise to measure the actual levels of Internet speed and compare them with reports prepared by telecommunication companies, must be done, says the Communications and Multimedia Ministry.
It has directed the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to do so.
“There are still many people, especially in rural areas, who complain about the current quality of services provided by telecommunication companies.
“I want MCMC to do the mapping, do the performance audit of the level of achievement, and compare with what the telcos have done,” said its minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa, while speaking at the ministry’s 2021 Excellence Service Awards ceremony here yesterday.
He said he wanted MCMC to issue what is stipulated in its Constitution, namely, the commissioner’s directive, and if necessary, the minister’s directive, to the companies concerned, “where those who do not reach the level we want, the directive requires them to improve the quality of their services”. Annuar said that the agencies under his ministry, especially MCMC, needed to take a new and more aggressive approach to solve the problems faced by the people.
“In our country, in terms of services, we give to companies, while the government issues licences.
“If the company says it can’t do it, then I look at the general profit gained every year. So where does the profit come from? The profit must come from the users of the service.
“I’m not anti-profit, it’s okay to make a profit, but please reinvest and fix the problems of the people in the villages who climb trees and climb mountains (just to get Internet access),” he said.
“How much longer do we have to hear about this problem?”
Speaking to the media after the ceremony, Annuar said his ministry received a lot of feedback from the people about the quality of Internet access and mobile broadband services, where some areas have low Internet speeds, while some areas only have services from certain telecommunication companies. – Bernama