GEORGE TOWN, Oct 1 – Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng asked Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak, who reportedly claiming that Malaysians prefer slower broadband speeds. He said he had failed to understand the rationale of the minister claiming that Malaysians prefer “snail-pace” broadband to “cheetah-pace” with describing that the statement was “illogical”.
“How can Malaysia move forward while going backward? What kind of logic is that? Are we also going back to bullock carts and foregoing cars? Are we going backwards? Better we just stick to being an underdeveloped nation. What is the use of becoming a developed nation when one of the characteristics of such a country is fast broadband speeds?” he said in a press conference in Komtar here on Wednesday.
On Monday, Salleh who said that there was 71% of Malaysian Internet users preferred slower Streamyx broadband package with speeds between 384kbps to 1mbps. In the meantime, his comments also drew criticism from former International Trade and Industry Minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz and DAP strongman Lim Kit Siang.
“I would like to urged Putrajaya to replace Salleh or transfer him to a ‘slower’ ministry as it was shameful for a Communications Minister to not want faster internet speeds. How can a communication minister say something like this? Salleh is unqualified to be the minister. Better he quits or Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak transfers him to a slow ministry or make him a minister without portfolio,” said Lim, who is also DAP secretary-general.
Lim said even if consumers went for higher speed packages, they were not going to be charged four or five times more expensive than the slower speed packages. He said this was totally does not make sense which people always go for broadband packages that are faster and with more reliable speeds.
