JENDELA system and implementation to be revamped before starting Phase 2 – Fahmi

KOTA KINABALU: The Communications Ministry will carry out a comprehensive overhaul of the system and process for the implementation of the National Digital Network Plan (JENDELA) Phase 2 to ensure that its implementation is more effective, said Minister Fahmi Fadzil.

He said the JENDELA plan that is being revamped must be more accurate and viable and not rely solely on desktop assessment.

Fahmi said contractors who failed in the implementation of JENDELA Phase 1 would be examined for their involvement in JENDELA Phase 2, which is expected to involve between 2,500 and 3,000 telecommunications infrastructure sites nationwide.

“We expect that sometime in 2025 if the MCMC (Communications and Multimedia Commission) has completed a thorough inspection, we will announce Phase 2 (JENDELA) but the first process is to revamp the entire system.

“(The reshuffle) is already underway and we are starting to unravel many of the problems that have arisen,“ he said at a press conference here yesterday.

Earlier, Fahmi and Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor were present to witness the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding between Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) and MCMC for the implementation of Smart City here yesterday.

Commenting on the implementation of JENDELA Phase 1 so far, Fahmi said some sites that had been selected for telecommunications infrastructure in the phase project were found to be unsuitable to meet the requirements, and he was not even sure why the sites were chosen.

“This sites was chosen before me (became the Communications Minister) but the sites chosen at that time, let it be left behind and we will try to manage it in an orderly manner,“ he said.

Asked about Hajiji’s statement yesterday that the performance of the JENDELA Phase 1 contractor in Sabah was still unsatisfactory, Fahmi said he strongly agreed with the Chief Minister’s statement.

“This is a legacy problem, a problem that has occurred in recent years. But since taking charge of the Communications Ministry for two years, we have seen that JENDELA Phase 1 service providers are more diligent in preparing the balance, but Sabah still has a lot to work on,“ he said.

Yesterday, Hajiji was also reported to have said that he was informed that only 217 out of 382 telecommunication towers or 57 per cent under JENDELA Phase 1 had been completed in Sabah.