KUALA LUMPUR – U Mobile Sdn Bhd chairman Tan Sri Vincent Tan has slammed former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s administration for pushing for a single 5G network, claiming it jeopardised taxpayer funds.
Tan said mobile network operators were initially willing to fund the 5G rollout, but the Perikatan Nasional government insisted on a single network, managed by the Finance Ministry’s special purpose vehicle, Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB).
“RM4 billion has been spent to date and RM12.5 billion more planned through various contracts by DNB over ten years. In total RM16.5 billion of our taxpayers’ money are at stake,” Tan said in a statement to Business Today.
While acknowledging the inefficiency of multiple networks, Tan argued that a single, monopolised network for the nation was too risky.
He also criticised the choice of a monopolistic model, stating that global best practices favoured competition, which led to innovation and improved services.
“Both networks can compete and coexist to provide the best services with guaranteed affordability to the consumers, enterprises and government.
“We applaud the current government for making the courageous decision to break the DNB monopoly by having the second 5G network,” added the Berjaya Corp founder.
In May last year, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil confirmed that Malaysia would shift to a dual wholesale network system once DNB achieved 80% coverage in populated areas.
Tan defended U Mobile’s selection by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to develop the second 5G network, rejecting accusations that the company was awarded a “multi-billion” contract funded by taxpayers.
“U Mobile will fully fund the entire rollout of this second network.
“Not a single cent of our taxpayers’ money will be committed, a vast difference from the Muhyiddin’s administration monopoly model which was funded by taxpayers and has put our taxpayers’ money at risk,” Tan clarified.
Tan also responded to comments about U Mobile’s shareholder, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, emphasising the need for responsible discourse based on facts.
Sultan Ibrahim has been a shareholder since 2015, long before his reign as king and is currently the largest individual shareholder for U Mobile, holding a 22.3% stake.
Tan also cited the company’s revenue and net profit of RM3.5 billion and RM102 million respectively in 2023. Its total assets stood at RM6.2 billion and its share capital was RM2.6 billion.
“After more than RM5 billion private sector money was invested, we reached 9 million subscribers at the end of 2023, have built more than 10,000 network sites and have over 1,000 dedicated Malaysian employees nationwide.
“At 95% network population coverage, U Mobile is on par with CelcomDigi and Maxis,” he said, noting that U Mobile was the first telco in the country to offer 5G service at no additional costs for all Malaysians. – November 10, 2024