“CONSUMER EMPOWERMENT IN SARAWAK” PROMISE WITH CFM INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGE SHARING SESSION

KUCHING, 15 SEPTEMBER 2015 – With the mobile phone penetration in Malaysia exceeding 150 per cent, it is become increasingly common for telecommunications consumers to have issues on Communications and Multimedia services in Malaysia. This is reflected in the 147 new complaints recorded in Sarawak by The Communications and Multimedia Consumer Forum of Malaysia (CFM) from January 2014 to December 2014. To address this rise in complaints, CFM organized the fourth edition of Industry Knowledge Sharing Session (KSS) in Hilton Kuching, Sarawak with the objective to educate NGOs as well as local consumers in protecting their rights in Communications and Multimedia services.

Complaints about Poor Service and Coverage as well as Billing and Charging made up 70.1 per cent of all the complaints recorded in 2014. Up till July this year, CFM received a total of 77 new complaints. It is also interesting to note that we observed an increase of 70 per cent in complaints concerning No Service Coverage with 10 new complaints recorded up till July 2015 compared to 2014.

The most substantial complaint recorded in 2014 was about poor service by the service providers, topping at 54 complaints in Sarawak alone. At the end of July this year, 31 new complaints were recorded in poor service category, a 57.4% increase than the previous year. Examples of Poor service are wired internet broadband connectivity, poor customer service and complications arising from service termination as well as internet speed.

“In the fast-paced era of technology, consumers have become more knowledgeable and demanding, and they now expect the best service by communications and multimedia providers in Malaysia. However, they are also now more aware of their rights and statistically, we have received a total of 6,904 complaints from January 2014 to December 2014 throughout Malaysia, which is an increase of 10% from the year 2013. As for Sarawak, Poor Service was the top rated complaint category recorded in 2014. While telco service providers all endeavor to offer the best service possible, often this may not be the case due to multiple factors. CFM ensures that consumers are not short-changed by continuously monitoring the service delivery of the service providers and addressing any breaches of the General Consumer Code of Practice for the Communications and Multimedia Industry Malaysia (GCC) by them” said Director of CFM, Ahmad Izham Khairuddin

In this Industry Knowledge Session Sarawak Edition, CFM deliberated on topics and issues related to consumers of communications and multimedia services in Malaysia. With the participation of speakers from Media Prima and Tribunal Tuntutan Pengguna Malaysia (TTPM) as well as Director of CFM, MR Ahmad Izham Khairuddin, it is expected that the participants will increase their awareness and knowledge on their rights and responsibilities in relation to their communications and multimedia subscriptions.

CFM’s main objective for organizing the Industry Knowledge Sharing Session Sarawak is to share with the participants the consumers’ issues such as “Era Baru TV Digital”, “Promosi Tidak Benar” and “Perlaksanaan GST Dalam Industri Komunikasi dan Multimedia”.

CFM revealed its new logo and mascot as part of its transformation to better protect the rights of the consumers in Communications and Multimedia industry recently. Both CFM’s new logo and mascot represents the continuous involvement that takes place to ensure a more relevant and meaningful engagement with all stakeholders in this sector.

The Communications and Multimedia Consumer Forum of Malaysia is located at Wisma Straits Trading Building, Lebuh Pasar Besar, Kuala Lumpur next to Kuala Lumpur’s famous landmarks the Sultan Abdul Samad building and Dataran Merdeka.
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About CFM

The Communications and Multimedia Consumer Forum of Malaysia (CFM) was established and designated by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in 2001. It is a platform for the industry and the consumers/public to make coherent and constructive contributions to service improvements and policy development.

CFM is tasked with, amongst others, to promote growth of Malaysia’s communications and multimedia industry and the protection of consumer interests by fostering the highest standards of business ethics and behaviour through industry self-governance. CFM is also a channel for complaints redress on Communication and Multimedia services.

If you have unresolved complaints about your Communication and Multimedia services, please lodge your complaint by visiting CFM’s complaint portal, www.complaint.cfm.org.my or call our toll-free number 1-800-18-222. For more information, visit CFM’s website at www.cfm.org.my or write in to enquiries@cfm.org.my.

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