Wan Saiful tells tycoon to 'stay out of politics' over U Mobile 5G deal

Tasek Gelugor MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan has advised tycoon Vincent Tan to stick to business and stay out of politics.

Speaking to reporters in Parliament, the Bersatu lawmaker cited Tan's recent remarks defending the Yang di-Pertuan Agong amid controversy over the appointment of U Mobile as the country’s second 5G network operator.

Tan, the founder of the Berjaya Group, is U Mobile chairperson, and  Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar has been a shareholder in the telco since 2015, nine years before becoming the Agong.

“I advise this ‘towkay judi mahakaya’ to just stick to (running) business and not enter the world of politics. Know your place.

“The issue I raise is on administration, transparency, U Mobile’s capacity and sustainability of a public GLC,” said Wan Saiful.

Wan Saiful’s “towkay judi” slur against Tan referred to his links to Berjaya Group’s subsidiary Berjaya Sports Toto, while the public GLC involved is Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) which operates the country’s first 5G network.

Yesterday, Tan said U Mobile is open to engaging with its critics but any comments involving Sultan Ibrahim’s share in the company must be done responsibly based on facts.

Sultan Ibrahim is the second biggest U Mobile shareholder with a 22.3 percent stake in the company.

The biggest shareholder is Straits Mobile Investments Pte Ltd - a subsidiary of Singapore’s Temasek-owned ST Telemedia - with a 48.3 percent stake.

It was announced yesterday that Straits Mobile Investments will be paring down its shareholding to 20 percent.

M’sians can boycott U Mobile anytime

Meanwhile, Wan Saiful today said Tan is free to counter arguments from a business or economic perspective.

“But I am issuing a warning so that the ‘gambling tycoon’ does not shoot his mouth to make comments with sentiments of partisan politics.

“He must remember that Malaysians at any time can boycott U Mobile,” said the Bersatu lawmaker tasked to shadow the Communications Ministry.

Tan had yesterday also taken the opportunity to swipe at Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin, whose previous administration had tried to set up a 5G monopoly through DNB.

Tan alleged that the move had put taxpayers’ money at risk, in contrast to the current arrangement with U Mobile.

On Nov 6, MCMC said U Mobile was chosen based on factors like business and technical plans, complaint records, customer satisfaction, and its track record in infrastructure projects - without specifying why other competitors got bypassed.

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil previously said U Mobile’s appointment to operate the second 5G network was made unanimously by the commissioners from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) without interference from the administration.

He also said that MCMC has the right to impose additional conditions on U Mobile Sdn Bhd before granting them the spectrum to operate the country’s second 5G network.

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