Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo said the results of a due diligence exercise carried out on Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) showed there were no issues concerning its governance, finances, and administration.
While wrapping up the debate on the 2025 budget for his ministry in the Dewan Rakyat this evening, Gobind said the due diligence exercise carried out this year was necessary and that it showed that everything in DNB was in order.
“The issue of RM16.5 billion said to be funds channelled and used by DNB was brought up (in the Dewan Rakyat) yesterday,” said Gobind.
“Let me state clearly here that since my ministry took over DNB, we have called relevant parties involved in DNB to provide a full explanation regarding problems and issues that had been raised.”
“I would like to clearly state that if there exist, or it is brought to my attention that there are matters that need to be looked into… extraordinary matters … I will take action,” he said.
In the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday, Hassan Karim (PH-Pasir Gudang) questioned the Communications Ministry about the allocations for the first and second 5G networks and asked if it was true that the former Perikatan Nasional government had allocated RM16.5 billion of public funds for DNB’s first 5G rollout. Hassan had also asked how much of this sum had already been spent.
In response, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the matter was under the purview of the Digital Ministry.
Fahmi, however, went on to say that both his ministry and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission were completely unaware of Digital Nasional Berhad’s operations after he was appointed minister in 2022.
Fahmi said it was “horrifying and concerning” to find out that no one had a clear understanding of DNB’s activities at the time.
The Communications Minister also told the Dewan Rakyat that even the deputy secretary-general of the Treasury had no visibility into the activities of DNB despite it being a Ministry of Finance (Incorporated) company.
“This is a serious matter and I would like to assure that action would have been taken if such matters had been brought to my attention,” said Gobind.
In the Dewan Rakyat today, Gobind said that the RM16.5 billion was for a 10-year period.
“To date, I would like to state that the RM16.5 billion for 10 years does not involve government funds except for an equity injection of RM500 million in 2021 and a shareholder loan amounting to RM450 million from the Ministry of Finance (Incorporated) in May 2023.
“MOF Inc is a shareholder. These are the only funds that came from the parties I had mentioned,” Gobind said.
Earlier today, former DAP Bangi MP Ong Kiang Ming lambasted Fahmi for his reply in Parliament. Ong had also urged Fahmi to explain what he had done to address concerns about DNB after becoming minister in December 2022.
In a series of posts on X, Ong said Fahmi had, as an opposition MP in 2022, called for an investigation into the 5G network partnership between DNB and Ericsson, following a report that the Swedish telco allegedly breached pacts and had compliance issues.
“Did Fahmi follow up on this after he became the Communications and Digital minister in December 2022? If so, were any improprieties discovered, and if yes, what actions were taken?
“What steps did Fahmi take to clean up the ‘horrifying and concerning’ things that he found at DNB when he first became minister?
“In the interest of transparency, is he able to reveal what remedial steps were taken?” Ong posted.
Fahmi’s ministry was split following a Cabinet reshuffle last year, which saw Fahmi being reassigned as Communications Minister while Gobind helmed the Digital Ministry.
On Jan 10 this year, DNB officially came under the purview of the Digital Ministry.
