Media Statement
Wake Up Call for Telekom
Many Malaysians are aware of how members of their families living or studying overseas are able to call Malaysia and speak at length at minimal cost.
According to informed sources, it can be as cheap as US 5 cents per minute to call from Florida to Malaysia during off peak hours. By purchasing a prepaid card in the US, one can also access these cheaper rates from anywhere in the world.
In Malaysia, overseas calls used to cost a bomb. With the proposed reductions for IDD calls, they would still probably cost more than the IDD rates in the US and the UK.
This cock and bull about needing to hike local call rates so as to lay new lines in rural areas begs two questions.
First, what has happened to all the profits previously collected? For instance in the first nine months of last year, Telekom posted a pre-tax profit of RM2.1 billion. Its after-tax profit was RM1.6 billion. These funds can easily be used to finance new infrastructure if Telekom so desires.
Second, are we still into laying telephone lines into rural areas in this day and age of satellite telecommunications? No wonder Telekom has the reputation of being a dinosaur in the industry.
In the United States and some other democracies, every demand for a hike in rates of any public utility needs to be justified through public hearings held by a regulatory commission. The public is allowed to challenge any proposed hike that is considered extreme. The private company in turn is required to respond to justify the hike and to show that profits have been ploughed back into operations and not siphoned off by the directors.
Telekom should not arbitrarily increase its tariffs without considering the needs of consumers, many of whom are feeling the effects of the economic downturn. We call on the authorities not to approve the proposed tariff rates. They should instead first conduct a thorough review and audit of Telekom's operations and accounts.
Executive Committee
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Aliran cannot understand why there is a need to increase telephone tariffs - whether domestic or international - at all. All over the world, telephone tariffs have been dropping as a result of new technology.
No doubt, the reductions for long distance and IDD calls are welcome, but we do not see the need for the arbitrary hike in local call rates. After all, the necessary telephone lines have already been laid and the costs of these have already been more than adequately recouped.