PM Gives Mid-December Deadline To MyDigital ID, DNB To Tackle Delays In Initiative Rollout - Fahmi

PUTRAJAYA, Dec 6 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has given MyDigital ID and Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) a mid-December deadline to tackle delays in the implementation of two national digital initiatives – MyDigital ID and the second 5G network.

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the Prime Minister considered the implementation of MyDigital ID to be late because, as of yesterday, only 1.319 million Malaysians had registered in the database.

As such, he said Anwar has also given two weeks to the relevant parties to devise a plan on the steps they need to take to boost registration.

On the second 5G network rollout, Fahmi said DNB, which is a special-purpose vehicle company under the Ministry of Digital, has also been given time until next week to submit a new business plan for the network's rollout.

“Prior to this, there was a delay in finalising the Shareholding Agreement. This resulted in a delay in opening the tender process for the second network,” he told a press conference today.

The minister said the delay has caused DNB, the operator of the first 5G network, and the selected telecommunications company for the second network, U Mobile, to experience delays in presenting their new business plans for their respective networks.

Fahmi said that U Mobile presented its business plan earlier this week, while DNB has yet to do so.

“They (DNB) have requested until January (to submit their business plan), but the Prime Minister has asked for it to be submitted this month,” he said.

At the Finance Ministry’s monthly assembly yesterday, Anwar voiced his disappointment over delays in the MyDigital ID and the second 5G network rollout.

Anwar also noted that he had conveyed his dissatisfaction over the matter during the National Digital Economy and Fourth Industrial Revolution Council (MED4IRN) meeting on Wednesday.

In this context, Fahmi said the Prime Minister had apologised to the Cabinet for being too harsh in expressing his disappointment at the MED4IRN meeting, describing himself as being “out of character”.

“The reason is that he felt both initiatives should have progressed more quickly, and he apologised during the Ministry of Finance's monthly assembly, and he also apologised again during the Cabinet meeting today,” he said.

MyDigital ID is a government initiative for secure and valid identity verification for online users, developed in 2016.

The second 5G network refers to an additional 5G infrastructure that complements the existing single 5G wholesale network model provided by DNB, aimed at bridging the digital divide and driving better digital infrastructure in underserved rural areas.

-- BERNAMA