SANDAKAN, June 20 (Bernama) -- Vandalism and thefts of telecommunication
equipments have caused considerable losses to the country and service providers.
Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission director for Sabah and
Labuan, Bukhari Yahya said the issue should be taken seriously because the
implications and risks would affect the community especially during the
emergency where the communication service had become the most important thing.
"The absence of communication may cause a delay in emergency assistance,
thus threatening the people''s life and safety," he said in his speech at
the Seminar on Awareness of Vandalism and Thefts of Communication Equipment,
here today, which was participated by community leaders.
Bukhari said the increase in the copper price was among the main cause of
the thefts, which were described as serious problems and were difficult to
handle.
He said, people in the affected areas not only experienced communication
problems, but the service providers too had to suffer losses in terms of time,
energy and money to replace the equipments and to restore the communication
services.
He said various measures had been carried out by the service providers,
local councils and police to curb the problem but they were still inadequate so
far.
-- BERNAMA
HG ZUZ AO