I refer to the ongoing crisis involving the implementation of the Next Generation Emergency Services 999 (NG Mers 999) system, now entering its fifth day.
I welcome and record my appreciation to the government - particularly the communications and health ministries - for the courageous decision to immediately revert the nation's emergency response operations back to the original system.
This decision reflects that the federal government is a responsive government, one that listens to the pulse of the people when public safety is at stake.
Despite assurances from the service provider and related agencies on Nov 18 that the technical issues had been "resolved", the reality on the ground showed the opposite.
My team conducted a public sentiment analysis and gathered reports from frontliners with assistance from Google Gemini. The findings reveal that dissatisfaction and operational failures were actually worsening, not improving.
A systemic failure - not isolated issues
The complaints received are not mere "teething problems" but involve critical breakdowns in core emergency functions:
Navigation and dispatch failure: Ambulances were sent to incorrect locations or even the wrong districts due to inaccurate mapping data.
Resource misallocation: There were cases where multiple ambulances were dispatched to the same incident (double dispatch), while other critical patients were left waiting.
Delayed response times: Reports included emergency calls failing to connect or taking too long to be processed - violating standard response time KPIs.
Telekom Malaysia's (TM) explanation that a "surge in calls" caused the NG Mers 999 failure is entirely illogical. This so-called surge did not come from 20,000 new emergency incidents suddenly emerging. It came from Malaysians who were forced to redial 999 repeatedly - some up to 20 times - because the system failed to connect them on the first attempt.
That is not a surge. It is a direct symptom of a malfunctioning system.
Using repeated calls as an excuse is unreasonable and shifts blame onto desperate individuals trying to save lives.
Before offering excuses, TM should instead issue a sincere apology to the people. Many families experienced fear, trauma, dangerous delays - and some suffered the loss of loved ones.
Likewise, the Health Ministry, as a partner in this project, must also assume its share of responsibility.
Call to action
We cannot entertain a "stabilisation period" when lives are on the line. Every minute lost due to a frozen or glitching system could mean the death of a father, mother, or child.
Reverting to the old system does not mean rejecting technological advancement. The key lesson from this episode is clear: Technology must serve people - not burden them.
I therefore call for the immediate implementation of an independent technical audit. The government must appoint a neutral body to examine the root causes of the data integration failures and system readiness before NG Mers 999 is allowed to "go live" again.
Any future upgrades must undergo far more rigorous pilot testing, including simulations reflecting actual national call volumes, before being deployed to the public.
Once again, I commend the authorities for having the courage to make difficult decisions to protect Malaysian lives. - Mkini
RA LINGESHWARAN is a Dewan Negara senator.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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