KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (July 9): The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has stated that telecoms may face penalties if they do not respond to customer complaints within the required quality and service standards. The normal penalty imposed on service providers, according to Chairman Dr Fadhlullah Suhaimi Abdul Malek, would be a fine of an acceptable amount.
“As a service provider, you don’t want to be penalized for providing poor service since it will affect your capacity to manage your consumers.”
As a result, the amount of the punishment isn’t as important as the fact that one exists.
“With the enforcement (of penalties), service providers will undoubtedly be on their toes to ensure that the service is always top notch for the customers,” he said today during a virtual media briefing on the MCMC’s third quarterly report detailing the latest development and progress of the national digital infrastructure plan, Jalinan Digital Negara (JENDELA).
Fadhlullah also noted that no technological service is without flaws.
“We need to reboot the (telecom) network from time to time, just like we need to reboot the computer we’re using,” he said.
When complaints are received, the commission will notify service providers, who will be given a specific amount of time to resolve the issues and contact customers, according to Fadhlullah.
“One of the commitments made by the service providers is that complaints will no longer be considered closed and handled without the complainant signing off or accepting that the issue has been resolved by the service provider.”
He went on to say, “That is one of the most fantastic things that has happened since we started the JENDELA adventure.”
For the sake of completeness, Celcom Axiata Bhd, according to Fadhlullah, continues to dominate in the number of consumer complaints, with 12,056 in June this year.
During the Covid-19 epidemic, MCMC noticed an increase in network complaints, owing mostly to work from home and home-based Learning and Teaching (PdPR).
In a month-over-month (m-o-m) comparison, he said Celcom got 12,056 complaints in June, up from 3,780 in May.
Maxis Bhd came in second with 8,926 complaints, up from 2,796 complaints in May.
During the same time period, Digi.Com Bhd got 8,056 complaints.
“The Movement Control Order (MCO) is an unusual scenario for the country, and the number of complaints has increased during this difficult time.”
“Otherwise, it was on the decline,” he explained.
As the country progresses through Phase One, Phase Two, and Phase Three of the National Recovery Plan, Fadhlullah expects the number of complaints to decrease (NRP)./n
