PUTRAJAYA: The government proposes that the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) utilise a special slice of the 5G network to enhance law enforcement, says Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
He said the idea has been discussed, and he urged PDRM to consider the service, which will enable access to necessary data from all modes.
Fahmi, acting as the government spokesperson, said this to the media after participating as a panellist at the Inaugural Asia International Security Summit and Expo 2025 on Wednesday (Jan 22).
Also present were Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay and Tan Sri Mohamad Salim Fateh Din.
"The special slice of 5G for the police is a feature of the 5G spectrum for a private 5G local network," he said.
Fahmi said that this is something the industry has been discussing, adding that this enables a dual network approach.
He added that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission would undertake measures to ease the realisation of a secured slice for the police.
"A slice of 5G is the bandwidth dedicated to an organisation—it can be for law enforcement, any enforcement, or any company to use the local 5G network. This would involve the internet of things (IOT) to gather data from various devices and sensors,” said Fahmi.
"I do not oversee the police but I am asking it to consider this as a service," he added when asked if there is already a private company in mind for such a service.
Earlier, during the fireside chat with Chief Information Officer of U Mobile Neil Tomkinson, Fahmi said the secured slice of 5G dedicated to PDRM would require specific technologies.
"I think there has to be a lot of communication between government, industry, and consumers to understand the areas I am not promoting or suggesting any 5G company."
"For the police, for example, it might be interesting to consider having a dedicated, secured slice of 5G."
"But there are arguments about having that kind of dedicated secure slice of spectrum, where certain types of communication can be conducted."
"When it comes to 5G in Malaysia, it is not demand-driven; it is supply-driven, compared to many other countries," said Fahmi.
