M’sia to help Timor-Leste improve telecoms capability

Malaysian Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil and Timor-Leste’s Transport and Communications Minister Miguel Gonçalves Manetelu sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on telecommunications cooperation at the signing ceremony at Pullman Kuala Lumpur. - Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is looking at working with Timor-Leste to improve telecommunications connectivity there, says Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil.

He added that this was part of the agreement in two memorandums of understanding (MOUs) signed between his ministry and Timor-Leste’s Transport and Communications Ministry on Saturday (Oct 25) night.

"We are looking at connectivity. There are certain things that the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) has asked my ministry and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to look at.

"We (are likely to) assess sharing our experience of rolling out 5G connectivity. We also have the National Information Dissemination Center (Nadi).

"Timorese are showing good interest, and there will probably be some discussions around subsea cables," he told the media here on Sunday (Oct 26).

Fahmi said his ministry is also looking at collaborations with agencies and institutions in Timor-Leste.

Malaysians travelling to Dili in Timor-Leste would be able to get good roaming packages soon, he added.

"Malaysian and Timorese telcos are in discussions now on having better packages for tourists. So this is a very good step," he said.

Fahmi also said the accession of Timor-Leste as Asean’s 11th member marks a historic moment and is a good start to the three-day Asean summit.

"We are extremely proud to witness a historic moment, Timor-Leste becoming the 11th member of Asean, at a time when we are growing the Asean community," he added.

The 47th Asean Summit and Related Summits begins today and ends on Tuesday (Oct 28).