Fahmi dismissed a claim by Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal that the ministry’s push for the network “blatantly” contravened Section 133 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA).
“He is suddenly an expert on the matter. We have been following the issue for a very long time.
“The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission will act as a regulator to ensure no dominance by one particular entity or mobile network operator, and we will also ensure a level playing field.
“Issues of conflict of interest will not arise,” he told reporters after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between MCMC and the Malaysian Investment Development Authority today on increasing 5G access and infrastructure for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Fahmi said the issue of conflict of interest did not arise in MCMC’s meeting on Monday with all the mobile network operators interested in joining the tender process for the second network.
Wan Fayhsal said in Parliament yesterday that Section 133 of the CMA prohibits licensees from engaging in any conduct that has the purpose of substantially lessening competition in a communications market.
He said a preventive mechanism was needed to prevent another “governance nightmare” like the 1MDB fiasco.
Wan Fayhsal had also called on Putrajaya last week to halt plans to develop the second 5G network, saying the current scheme might lead to a conflict of interest among the mobile network operators and Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB).
He said Putrajaya had previously made it a requirement for telecommunications companies to have a stake in DNB, the owner of the country’s first 5G network.
On another matter, Fahmi said he had proposed alternative dates to concert organiser Future Sound Asia for the staging of the Good Vibes Festival, which was called off on July 1 out of respect for the installation of the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim.
He said the festival was not the only event that had been slated for the weekend of July 20-21, with several other concerts being postponed to later dates.
“(Future Sound Asia) told me that they realised it was difficult to coordinate international artists to shift (their dates) by even a day,” he said, explaining the reason for their cancellation.