KUALA LUMPUR — Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil told the Dewan Rakyat today he and ministry officials were totally in the dark about what was happening in Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) when he first took office in 2022.
He said it was “scary and alarming” that no one knew about the plan for a single 5G network rollout by the Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin administration.
“I can share certain things such as when I took over this ministry portfolio (in 2022), I found it scary and alarming that no one in the ministry or the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) knew anything about what was happening in the DNB at that time, such as the contracts, and the (RM15.6 billion) figure mentioned.
“Even the then deputy chief secretary of the Treasury then had no ‘visibility’ about what was happening with DNB. This is despite the fact that this company was under the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MoF Inc),” Fahmi said when winding up policy-stage debates on the budget allocation for his ministry after under the Supply Bill 2025.
He was responding to several questions on DNB raised during the debate earlier by Hassan Abdul Karim (Pasir Gudang-PH).
Hassan asked Fahmi to confirm if the 5G rollout by DNB involved tax monies as claimed by certain parties.
He also asked whether DNB had been subjected to an audit by the Auditor-General, and whether the audit report can be debated in the Parliament.
Hassan also wanted Fahmi to confirm whether the project was approved by the Cabinet during the period the Parliament was suspended in 2021 by Muhyiddin’s administration due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and whether such a decision was unconstitutional.
The PKR lawmaker added that Bukit Aman’s commercial crime division as well as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should probe the matter for irregularities.
In response, Fahmi said he was unable to comment on the matter as DNB is no longer under the Communications Ministry’s purview and is under the Digital Ministry instead. It had been under Fahmi’s ministry previously until a cabinet reshuffle in December 2023 when the Digital Ministry was created.
Fahmi said the matters raised by Hassan can also be investigated by the Public Accounts Committee and Auditor-General.
“Should anyone with information would like to file police reports, we leave it to them (to do so),” he added.
Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan (Tasek Gelugor-PN) interjected, saying Hassan had erred as DNB’s website stated that the cost of the 5G rollout would be “exclusively covered” by the private sector and not by public funds. – November 27, 2024.