No Blame For Petition Against Me But Cheaper Internet A Must Gobind

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PARLIAMENT | Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo said he does not blame those who had initiated a petition to oust him over his push for cheaper internet
Since taking office, Gobind has pressed internet service providers to lower their prices but this was also said to have caused the share prices of the country's leading provider Telekom Malaysia (TM) to slump
"I don't blame anyone for starting the petition against me, that is their right
"But we need to look at the country's needs so that the country has connectivity at reasonable prices," he told the Dewan Rakyat
Gobind was responding to a question from Khoo Poay Tiong (Harapan-Kota Melaka) who pointed out that some in the industry had blamed him for TM's share price slump
He also asked if the Communications and Multimedia Ministry would be giving out licences to more players apart from TM
TM's share prices have slumped by more than 50 percent since Gobind took office
On May 4, a day before the general election, TM's share price was at RM5.16. It closed at RM2.32 yesterday
This had also raised concerns about TM's future revenue and the fate of its employees
Gobind said he had been engaging TM on its problems
"I have been meeting with TM a number of times in the last week and we are in discussion. I believe there will be results
"The government is prepared to help and will take measures to ensure that we can resolve TM's issues together. That is my guarantee," he said
TM had reduced the prices of its Unifi fibre services but has yet to do so for Streamyx services which use copper infrastructure. Gobind had pressed TM to also reduce its Streamyx prices
On introducing new players to the internet-provider market, Gobind said that plans were already in the works
"But I do not wish to announce in this House (Dewan Rakyat) as I think it is more appropriate for the respective companies to make the announcement," he said
Meanwhile, Bernama reports the government is looking at several alternatives to improve and expand the broadband network across the country in preparation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0)
Gobind said the ministry was looking into proposals from several parties including the use of satellites
"We used to have a National Fiberisation Plan policy which is a plan that focuses on fibre. However, it will take time and a high cost if you want to fiberise a place and we see it is difficult to establish a network in the near future, especially in rural areas
"The government is looking at other alternatives such as satellite and we are currently studying the proposals of several parties. "We have also expressed the desire to change the approach from the fiberisation plan to 'Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan'," he said during the question-and-answer session at Dewan Rakyat today. - Mkini

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