KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 20): Independent lawmaker Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has called on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to investigate Malaysia’s 5G rollout, saying the network will cost taxpayers at least RM11 billion.

Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat today, Syed Saddiq claimed that Malaysia had departed from international standards by adopting a single monopoly system when it awarded Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) the contract to handle the 5G rollout in the country. 

According to him, Malaysia’s 4G rollout was more transparent, as it was done through an open tender and saw telecommunication companies forking out the RM4 billion to RM7 billion it took to implement it. 

“The government used the funds collected by the telcos to build the rural internet infrastructure,” he added. 

With a bigger amount needed to implement the 5G rollout, Syed Saddiq called for more transparency in this deal.

“I hope this issue isn’t something small. I hope there’s a bipartisan effort and I hope the PAC investigates this, as it involves our future,” he said. 

Syed Saddiq stood up to speak when PKR’s Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil, while debating on the royal address, brought up the 5G issue in his speech. Fahmi questioned as to why Malaysia had not adopted the dual consortium model used by Singapore and other countries. 

DNB, the government-owned special-purpose vehicle undertaking the deployment of the 5G infrastructure and network, announced in July that Ericsson Malaysia had been appointed to build the 5G infrastructure at a cost of RM11 billion.

It reiterated that Ericsson had undertaken to arrange the financing, while DNB will securitise future cash flow from its wholesale business with mobile network operators via sukuk programmes to finance its other network operating expenditure and meet its obligations to repay financiers when they become due.

"Accordingly, there will be no government funding required for the 5G network roll-out," DNB had said.

Read also:
DNB: Ericsson's RM11b 5G bid is RM700m lower than nearest competitor
Safeguarding the road to 5G in Malaysia … but for whom?

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