TM EMBARKS ON NATIONWIDE CABLE THEFT PREVENTION CAMPAIGN

In the wake of increasing cable theft incidents nationwide and the significant negative impact it has on the society, Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) has embarked on a Cable Theft Prevention campaign to mitigate the unscrupulous activities at the national level. This campaign is also in support of the National Key Result Area (NKRA) initiatives in the fight against crime.

Among the objectives of the campaign include raising the awareness among the public at national level on the severity of cable theft incidents at this moment and to garner their support on the long standing ground activities. The campaign is also aimed at instilling sense of responsibility among the local communities to safeguard the telecommunication infrastructures in their respective areas.
Commenting on the campaign, Datuk Dr Halim Shafie, Chairman, TM said, “Cable theft is indeed a serious issue not only for TM, but also a national concern when it involves the safety of Malaysians. TM has long been fighting cable theft and putting in place prevention measures in collaboration with Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM), Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture (KPKK), Malaysia Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the Malaysian Emergency Response Service (MERS) 999 agencies, local authorities, other telco and utilities providers. I would like to convey our appreciation for the continuous support rendered by everyone involved to us in TM in implementing the various initiatives in our efforts towards curbing the problem.”

“The implications and risks upon failure of telecommunications services are severe for Malaysia as restoration takes time and would impact the nation, TM and customers. Mindful of such situation, TM is embarking on this Cable Theft Prevention campaign and we will be communicating positive messages on the importance of telecommunication services as well as the impacts of cable thefts and vandalism to the society via community service messages as an effort to increase the public awareness on the issue,” added Datuk Dr Halim.

As part of the campaign, TM has begun communicating the community service messages through print media, electronic media (TV & radio), outdoor and online media. To make the messages even stronger amongst the public, TM will be organising on-ground activities which include regular security patrolling activities via ‘Jom Ronda Kabel’ programme, installation of i-Watch (an Anti Theft Cable Detection & Escalation System) at high prone areas, reward programme for successful capture of culprit and ‘Ops Lusuh’ with enforcement bodies to conduct raids to the scrap metal operators.

For this campaign, TM is collaborating with PDRM, the local authorities and other telco and utilities providers as these are the key stakeholders in mitigating the cable theft issue.

“TM has also implemented other initiatives to curb the incidents such as replacing copper cables with fibre optic cables or migrate the service in the areas to wireless, burying overhead cables or increasing the height of the overhead cable by another 3 feet, pole greasing to prevent climbing and increasing the protection of manhole for underground cables. We are also happy to note that TM has been receiving encouraging participation from the local communities with the formation of Special Task Forces at the national, state and district level as well as the regular security patrolling at high prone areas,” Datuk Dr Halim further explained.

“We really hope to continue receiving support from the public in ensuring the success of this cable theft prevention campaign, so everyone can enjoy uninterrupted telecommunication services and move into an enhanced digital lifestyle,” concluded Datuk Dr. Halim.

TM seeks the cooperation from all parties especially the local community and members of the public in ensuring that the communication facilities provided are preserved and protected from any undesired incident such as cable theft, vandalism and any incident which results in interruption of telecommunication services. TM urges the public to lodge a report should they come across or witness a cable theft incident as it can disrupt the services provided. Should the public witness any suspicious activity, they should immediately report the incident by calling 999 so that appropriate actions could be taken by the authorities.