DNB may become a ‘white elephant’ needing bailout, says Wan Fayhsal

 

Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal said the government has not ‘come clean’ about how Digital Nasional Bhd would be managed after the second network is established.

PETALING JAYA: 

Bersatu’s Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal has expressed concerns about Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) becoming a 

white elephant

 when the dual 5G network model is implemented.

On an episode of the PODaBOOM podcast, the Machang MP and Bersatu Youth chief said the move could result in the government bailing out the state-owned company for billions of ringgit.

We don’t want DNB to become another white elephant that requires a bailout worth RM5 billion just because you want to accommodate Huawei,

 he said.

In 2021, Malaysia introduced a plan for the state-owned agency to control the entire 5G spectrum, with various carriers using the infrastructure for mobile services.

After complaints that DNB’s monopoly would stifle competition, the government agreed to allow a second network by telecommunications companies, once DNB achieves 80% coverage.

The government also agreed to sell 70% of its stake in DNB to the mobile network operators.

In September last year, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said a dual 5G network would allow for more effective participation by Huawei, balancing both western and eastern technology.

Wan Fayhsal also said the government had not 

come clean

 about how DNB would be managed after the second network is established, and was not being transparent in explaining the issue to the public.

He said it is the job of the opposition to provide checks and balances and to scrutinise the government, warning that another situation like the 1MDB scandal could occur if they do not.

“We have seen this before. If the opposition doesn’t criticise, the government will make a mistake.

We criticise for the good of the government. Don’t blame us if another 1MDB scandal happens again,

 he said.

Critics have warned that establishing a second network could lead to higher costs, taxpayer-funded debts and a conflict of interest.

On a recent episode of the Keluar Sekejap podcast, former science, technology and innovation minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the government might be setting DNB up to fail, or at least not succeed as intended, by introducing a second network.

He mentioned reports that RM900 million might be written off due to equipment designated for the current frequency being left unused after the frequency is allocated to the second network.

Khairy said to maintain the 100Mbps internet speed guarantee, DNB might need an additional RM1.6 billion due to spectrum allocation changes. - FMT