This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on January 8, 2024 - January 14, 2024
Set up in 2021, Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) is one of the special purpose entities owned by the government that have managed to complete their tasks ahead of time. Three years after the 5G rollout in Malaysia, DNB has achieved more than 90% coverage of populated areas throughout Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Selangor as well as some 50% of Johor, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan.
In fact, the country’s 5G rollout is one of the fastest in the world, Ericsson’s head of Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh David Hägerbro has been quoted as saying.
Last month, DNB took another significant step forward by sealing long-awaited share subscription agreements (SSAs) with five mobile network operators (MNOs) — CelcomDigi Bhd through Infranation Sdn Bhd, Maxis Broadband Sdn Bhd, U Mobile Sdn Bhd, Telekom Malaysia Bhd and YTL Power International Bhd — to take up an equity stake in the entity.
The SSAs essentially give the MNOs a collective 70% equity stake or 14% each in DNB, with the government, through the Minister of Finance (MoF) Inc, retaining the remaining 30% and holding a special share. MoF Inc may eventually exit DNB with only a special share. The agreements will also see each MNO injecting RM233 million to meet DNB’s funding requirements.
However, DNB’s future is in limbo. The CEO position remains vacant after Augustus Ralph Marshall left in March 2023 when his two-year contract expired.
More recently, it was left without a custodian minister after the cabinet reshuffle last month resulted in the Ministry of Communications and Digital being split into two. Last week, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil reportedly said that the government had yet to decide on whether the entity would be placed under his ministry or the Ministry of Digital.
Employees of DNB must be feeling demoralised over the fact that the entity is in this position despite its achievements. This is not quite how one would expect to be rewarded for fulfilling one’s task. People often wonder why companies struggle to retain talent — this is an example of why it can happen.
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