Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil has appointed Al-Ishsal bin Dato Prof Ishak T Kechik as his Communications and Digital advisor with immediate effect. Al-Ishsal was the former Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chairman when Gobind Singh was the Communications and Multimedia Minister between 2018 and 2020. Fahmi has said on his Facebook post that the appointment is on a pro bono basis without a salary.
Al-Ishsal has over 30 years of experience in various industry sectors and served as the Group CEO at Pos Malaysia Berhad before joining the MCMC. Some of his past appointments include Chief Digital Officer at McCann Erickson Worldgroup, CEO of Baraka Telecom, Senior VP of Marketing & Products at Malaysia Airlines, Group Head of Ancillary Income of AirAsia and a trainer and consultant for Airbus Group. He holds a Bachelor of Management (Honours) from University Sains Malaysia and was also a Japan Airlines summer scholarship beneficiary at Sophia University in Tokyo.
During his tenure at the MCMC, he oversaw the planning and deployment of the National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan (NFCP) as well as the initial plan to rollout 5G by Q3 2020. Under the previous administration, the government intended to deploy 5G through a private-led 5G consortium which utilises existing telco resources and infrastructure to speed up deployment and prevent duplication of infrastructure.
In a report by Macquarie Research, Al-Ishsal said he believed in a demand-led 5G deployment as it will lower execution risks and spur CAPEX investments by the telcos. He suggested for the technology neutrality of the existing spectrum which was revoked by the previous government be reinstated. He said the government could liberalise 5G by allowing mobile network operators to refarm their existing spectrum for 5G which will enable healthy competition, similar to Japan.
The new government is still reviewing the current 5G deployment plans and Fahmi has said that it is expected to be completed within Q1 2023. Malaysia’s 5G Single Wholesale Network, Digital Nasional Berhad, has repeatedly warned that a second 5G network would have significant national implications as it will delay deployment and increase the cost of 5G deployment.
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- Fahmi Fadzil expects to complete review of Malaysia’s 5G deployment within Q1 2023
