KUALA LUMPUR: After a year of cajoling, then dishing out reminders and warnings, the Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications can announce that 90% of prepaid service subscribers in the country met the registration deadline last week.
As at midnight last Friday, 17.8 million prepaid subscribers had registered their cellphone numbers with their respective service providers. There are about 19 million prepaid users in Malaysia. The feat came as surprise to Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik, who is Minister of Energy, Water and Communications. "I didn't think so many would come up and register (in time)," he said. "I thought only 60% would make it by the deadline."
He was speaking at a press conference after officiating at the launch of the Malaysian Internet Exchange (MyIX). Dr Lim said his ministry wants to "pull the plug" slowly on stubborn subscribers — those who have yet to register.
These one million-plus subscribers who did not register in time have had their services interrupted — they can still receive calls but cannot phone out or send text messages. They now have until Dec 29 to register.
Regulatory body Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said all unregistered prepaid subscriptions on Dec 30 will be terminated. Remaining credit in the accounts and any contact details stored on the SIM cards will be lost.