SHAH ALAM: The Communications and Multimedia Ministry is awaiting an official and full report from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA) before deciding on whether to disallow Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd from building its 5G network infrastructure in Malaysia, following global allegations of cyber espionage conducted by the company.
Its minister Gobind Singh Deo said MCMC and NACSA are completing their investigation into the matter and are preparing their report.
“When they are ready with the report, our ministry will make an announcement on whether to ban Huawei from setting up its infrastructure in the country.
“There are many concerns which have been raised (on 5G), including the Huawei matter. The MCMC and the NACSA are looking into all these, and they will subsequently come out with reports.
“(A ban is not the only alternative, as we) will be looking into how we can study the system to make sure it is secure, as we anticipate this technology (will inevitably enter Malaysia and) change things and how (technology) works in the years to come,” he told reporters following the soft launch of the HeiTech Venture Builder programme by HeiTech Padu Berhad here, today.
Gobind had been asked to comment on the progress of a study being carried out by the government on whether to follow the lead of other countries, including the United States and Canada, which have banned Huawei from building its 5G network infrastructure.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had said that the company has so far not run afoul of Malaysian laws, despite claims by western governments that the company’s devices could be used for spying by Chinese authorities.
Asked if the government will seize or stop importing Huawei devices, Gobind said all will depend on the report by the MCMC and NACSA.
On another matter, Gobind said that he has yet to receive a full report on the alleged leak last week of the personal data of one million Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) students.
He said he will only comment on the matter after receiving the complete report.