31 Daily Network Complaints Lodged In 2020, Appointment Of New Chairperson

Network Issues Will Affect 5G Network Upgrade

6 out 13 CFM Council Members for 2021-2023 Term

With 2021 coming to an end, the Communications and Multimedia Consumer Forum of Malaysia (CFM) held its 20th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 9 December 2021, located at MCMC Auditorium. During the AGM, two things were highlighted which are the consumer experience based on complaints received by CFM in 2020 and the appointment of new council members for the 2021-2023 term. In addition, the betterment of consumer experience in the coming years rooted from 3G sunset and the upcoming 5G deployment were mentioned in the AGM.

For a more seamless follow through action, CFM handled reopened complaints under the purview of the General Consumer Code of Practice (GCC) from the second half of 2020 and no longer takes complaints on network issues which are channelled to MCMC from then on.

The first half-year of 2020 recorded a total of 22,552 network issue complaints received by CFM. This showed an increment of 358% from a total of 4,922 complaints last year on the same issue. Poor Coverage of 4G LTE was the highest subcategory with 12,951 complaints in the first half-year and this portrays an increasing demand and need for improved coverage of 4G/LTE. The increase could also be due to the unprecedented scale of COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020 which caused to the ongoing Movement Control Order (MCO) where consumers relied heavily on the network to stay connected with family, friends, work, and learning.

Encik Muhammad Radzillah

The 20th CFM AGM also witnessed the appointment of 13 new Council Members for the 2021-2023 term after its biennial elections conducted over e-voting by CFM members who attended the annual meeting today. Datin Mohana Mohariff, the 20th CFM Chairperson, ended her term after two years serving the board. During the AGM, she took the opportunity to welcome the new council members and reminded them that there is still a lot more work to be done for CFM, especially in playing a bigger role in ensuring the consumer's rights are protected. As the country moves into the enhancement of 4G with the 3G network sunsetting, CFM needs to assist consumers to address and mitigate any issues that might crop up.

For the term 2021 – 2023, Encik Muhammad Radzillah from Persatuan Pengguna Komunikasi Dan Media Malaysia (PEKOMA) has been elected as the new CFM Chairman and will be supported by the Deputy Chairperson Yang Bahagia Datin Nor Hanizar Shafie Sistem Televisyen (M) Berhad (TV3), Secretary – Encik Mohamad Yusrizal Dato’ Yusoff Persatuan Pengguna Kedah (CAKE), and Treasurer – Puan Mahfuzah Azahari Maxis Broadband Sdn Bhd (MAXIS).

Encik Muhammad Radzillah

“On behalf of the members and my fellow Board of Councillors, I would like to thank Datin Mohana Mohariff for the important work she has done in her capacity as the chairperson together with the members of the outgoing Board. Her leadership guided CFM towards being more focused in protecting consumer rights, from engaging all stakeholders for the review of GCC to driving awareness to consumers and much more. As the new CFM chairperson, I am looking forward to work together with the new council members to continue the good work done by outgoing councillors to prioritise the rights of consumers. This cannot be done without the close collaboration between both supply and demand sides in reaching consensus to get that win-win situation in addressing consumer issues". Said CFM new Chairman Encik Muhammad Radzillah.

Encik Muhammad Radzillah also added that while the deployment of 5G infrastructure and network brings a lot of promise for Malaysia and its citizens, CFM will continue to play a vital role in ensuring consumers' rights are prioritized and will help to ensure a smooth transition of consumer adoption of the latest technologies heading into the new digital economy.