KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission’s (MCMC) move to appoint U Mobile Sdn Bhd as the second 5G network operator in Malaysia was not influenced by the company’s shareholders, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil told the Dewan Rakyat today.
Fahmi (Lembah Pantai-PH) said MCMC had taken into account detailed technical and commercial considerations before appointing U Mobile, with the proses conducted through an open tender.
“MCMC (acted) independently. The minister and deputy minister were not involved in the evaluation process (while) MCMC had made sure that not more than 49% of (U Mobile’s) shares are foreign-owned.
“In terms of foreign and local shareholdings, (the selection of) U Mobile did not contravene any issues or conditions for the decision made,” Fahmi said in response to a question from Hassan Abdul Karim (Pasir Gudang-PH).
Fahmi’s fellow PKR MP had queried whether the company’s shareholders were a factor in MCMC’s decision, announced on November 1, to make U Mobile responsible for implementing the nation’s second 5G network.
U Mobile’s biggest shareholder with a 48.26% stake is Straits Mobile Investments Pte Ltd, which is a subsidiary of ST Telemedia, a private company owned by Singapore’s government investment arm Temasek Holdings.
It was also reported that the individual with the biggest stake in the company is Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, who holds a 22.3% share.
Following its selection as Malaysia’s second 5G network operator, U Mobile said that it would reduce its foreign ownership to 20%.
Fahmi told the lower House that requirements for the Network Facilities Provider and Network Services Provider individual licenses stipulate that a company can have up to 49% of foreign equity holders while it must also have at least 30% of Bumiputera shareholders.
Meanwhile, opposition lawmaker Datuk Wan Saifulruddin Wan Jan (Tasek Gelugor-PN) pressed the minister to reveal the selection criteria considered by MCMC prior to U Mobile’s appointment.
In response, Fahmi reiterated that MCMC had considered various factors, including U Mobile’s business and technical plans, complaint and customer satisfaction records as well as performance in implementing other infrastructure initiatives.
“U Mobile informed (the ministry) that they have been in touch with Digital Nasional Bhd’s (DNB) to make sure that current 5G users will not face issues in the future (with the rollout of the second 5G network).
“I believe that if both entities have a shared objective to develop a competent and competitive (second) network, the rakyat and the enterprise as a whole will benefit. This is the government’s focus,” Fahmi said. – November 7, 2024