Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo said on Thursday that a due diligence that amounts to an audit on DNB found all its dealings in order and in accordance with legal requirements.

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 28): Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo said on Thursday that Digital Nasional Bhd's (DNB) governance, financial practices, and administrative operations are in order and comply with legal requirements.

This follows the due diligence on DNB by several telecommunication companies prior to taking up their respective stakes in the entity, Gobind said.

"The process has to be done to ensure that the affairs of this DNB are in order, it is a necessity. The due diligence on DNB was done by the telcos involved. And what we got through that process is that everything that happened there is in order and that amounts to an audit to me. Everything that happened until now is in accordance with the law," he told the lower house of Parliament while winding up the debate on his ministry's 2025 budget.

"I have a letter from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (on this) and I can provide it after this," he said in response to a question from Howard Lee (DAP-Ipoh Timor) who asked if MACC was involved in the due diligence.

Gobind also pledged that actions would be taken if any irregularities are brought to his attention.

His remarks came after his colleague, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil, told the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday that both his ministry and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) were unaware of what DNB was doing when he first assumed the portfolio in 2022.

"It was quite horrifying and concerning ('agak menyeramkan dan agak mencemaskan') at the time, as I found that no one in the ministry or MCMC had any knowledge of what was happening in DNB when I took over."

"Even the deputy secretary general of Treasury, who is now the Secretary General of Treasury, had no visibility into DNB's activities, despite DNB being a company under the Minister of Finance, Inc," he said, according to the official parliamentary Hansard.

DNB was under the Communications and Digital Ministry for a year, led by Fahmi, before the ministry was split into two separate entities following a Cabinet reshuffle in December 2023, which resulted in DNB being placed under Gobind's Digital Ministry.

In May 2023, Fahmi had commended DNB, when it was under his ministry, saying it had accelerated the rollout of the 5G network in the country. Speaking to the press then following a five-month review of DNB's work and its Single Wholesale Network (SWN) model, he had praised DNB's efforts as a “positive achievement”.

The unity government had ordered the review right after coming into office following the 15th general election, citing industry concerns over pricing, transparency, and fears that the model could create a nationalised monopoly.

After the review, Fahmi had acknowledged that the award of the 5G rollout project to Ericsson (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd as the network equipment provider was done via a tender process. Nevertheless, the government has opted to implement a second 5G network.

However, when asked then if the government’s five-month review on the SWN model found any wrongdoings, Fahmi had said the review was not to identify wrongdoings, but just to assess the existing model.

“We are not looking at that aspect [of wrongdoings]. Our remit is very clear — the question was about if we discovered any wrongdoings — our remit is to assess this model. We don’t know whether any of the other agencies are investigating the nature [of this model], whether they have had any investigations done," he had said.

Currently, four mobile network operators — CelcomDigi Bhd (KL:CDB), Maxis Bhd (KL:MAXIS), U Mobile Sdn Bhd, and YTL Communications Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of YTL Power International Bhd (KL:YTLPOWR) — each hold a 16.3% stake in DNB. The government, through the Minister of Finance, Inc retains approximately 34.9% equity and a special share in DNB.

Earlier this month, MCMC had announced that U Mobile, the smallest among the three telcos that took part in the 5G tender for the second 5G network, would lead the development. The other two telcos who have put in their bids were CelcomDigi and Maxis.

Previously, Telekom Malaysia Bhd (KL:TM) had also expressed its intention to lead the second network. But it failed to complete its subscription of shares in DNB within the stipulated deadline — a prerequisite to bid for the second network.