MP wants govt to provide more details on U Mobile’s 5G winning bid

PETALING JAYA: An opposition MP has called for the government to provide more details on the selection of U Mobile Sdn Bhd (U Mobile) to develop the country’s second 5G network.

Tasek Gelugor MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan said communications minister Fahmi Fadzil only gave a general answer to the Dewan Rakyat earlier today when asked why the criteria for selecting the network operator had not been disclosed earlier.

“This has made the selection process non-transparent, leading to various worrying speculation,” he said in a statement.

Wan Saiful, who holds the communications portfolio in Perikatan Nasional’s shadow cabinet, also raised the issue of U Mobile’s shareholding, the majority of which is held by Singaporean firm Straits Mobile Investments Pte Ltd. U Mobile was reported to have said it plans to reduce this to 20%.

Earlier today, Fahmi said U Mobile’s selection to develop the second 5G network does not breach any shareholding conditions as the foreign equity cap of 49% was met.

“When U Mobile was appointed the second 5G network operator, its share value would have surely skyrocketed,” Wan Saiful said.

“This means that the ‘divestment’ to reduce foreign ownership to 20% will allow the ‘super-rich’ from Singapore to make huge profits as the value of their shares will certainly be much higher than their initial investment.”

Wan Saiful also questioned why U Mobile’s representative on the board of Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) was not immediately asked to resign given their position as a competitor.

The government agreed to allow a second 5G network after shares in the state-owned DNB were sold to Maxis, CelcomDigi, U Mobile and YTL Communications, with Telekom Malaysia awaiting shareholder approval for the deal. The government retains a 30% stake and a special share in DNB for a designated period.

DNB was set up in 2021 as a special purpose vehicle to develop the country’s 5G network and offer wholesale 5G services to private companies.

In May 2023, the government said the country would shift to a dual 5G model once DNB attained 80% coverage in populated areas, a level achieved last December.

“As a director, if this individual has access to sensitive internal information and strategies of DNB, it’s clear that the private company, U Mobile, will have an advantage in competing against DNB,” said Wan Saiful.

“However, DNB does not have access to U Mobile’s internal strategies, making the playing field uneven. Why is the government giving an advantage to a competitor, the majority of which is owned by a Singaporean company, while a Malaysian GLC like DNB is forced to compete on an uneven playing field?”

He also urged the government to clarify whether Straits Mobile Investments or its owners are linked to Singaporean GLICs, such as state investor Temasek.

On Nov 1, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) announced that U Mobile, chaired by tycoon Vincent Tan, had been selected to implement the country’s second 5G network.

Yesterday, MCMC explained that U Mobile’s selection was based on a combination of several factors, such as the business and technical planning submitted, its complaints and customer satisfaction record, as well as its performance in implementing other infrastructure initiatives.