Last week, Energy, Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Amar Leo Moggie announced that Telekom Malaysias phone tariff will increase from three to four sen a minute for local calls.

Among the reasons given for the increase was to give the telecommunication company (telco) a better margin to develop infrastructure in rural areas. He also said that the local call rates would have been five sen a minute if not for the governments subsidy.

Its noble of the government to continue on subsidising even though the telecom industry is supposed to have been privatised. On the other hand, why is the government continuing to offer unfair protection to its former protégé'.

If the government is serious about improving telecommunication, it should open-up its last mile (substations to home) connectivity to other telcos in Malaysia. These lines were mostly built using public funds as they were legacies of the former government-run telco.

If the other telcos are allowed access to the PSTN line, I think the service would be greatly improved and we may even enjoy flat rates (without time limit) for local calls without the government having to dig into its pocket for subsidies.

It is clear that the government is not doing what it should to make Malaysian companies more competitve in the international arena and prepare themfor globalisation. Transparency is still lacking in our government and we are left guessing as to what is really happening. Its actions only add to the haze that already clouds the economic climate in Malaysia.