TELEKOM Malaysia (TM) received the most complaints compared with other telecommunication service providers based on number of complaints per every 1,000 subscribers, said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

Complaints were mostly on pricing (21%), followed by lack of Unifi coverage (16%), Unifi service disruption (13%), billing dispute (14%), service delivery (14%) and other categories (22%), it said.

“The government views this alarming decline in TM’s services delivery very seriously,” said MCMC in a statement today.

MCMC said to date, it has received  7,946 complaints about TM, an increase of 43% from 4,528 complaints in 2017.

The TM way of handling complaints, which is to cite technical limitations and to ask customers to exercise patience, is not an acceptable course of action, said MCMC.

“Leaving customers in the dark is not the way a company of TM’s stature should operate,” said MCMC, citing an example yesterday where TM informed its customers of Unifi service disruption but failed to provide reasons for it.

MCMC said TM must also rationalise the disparity between Unifi and Streamyx pricing per mbps so that consumers were charged fairly.

“TM needs to be transparent in dealing with the consumers by offering packages that are of great value and not take advantage of the consumer’s lack of options,” it said.

Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo on Saturday called TM to explain its high charges for the digital subscriber line-based broadband service Streamyx and address customers’ grouses with the service.

Gobind said he had directed the MCMC to contact TM and seek clarification over the matter, and a report would be released by this week.

The MCMC said as the largest fixed broadband provider in the country with 85.97% market share, TM’s inaction affected many Malaysians who depended on the network for daily work and personal activities.

“Consumers are demanding better services for the money they are paying TM,” it said.

MCMC said it would not hesitate to take any regulatory actions against TM or any broadband service provider licensee found to be in breach. – Bernama, November 19, 2018.