09 Mar 2023
YB TEO NIE CHING LAUNCHES ASPIRE: A WOMEN’S ADVANCEMENT PROGRAMME AT TM’S INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY CELEBRATION
Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) joined organisations worldwide to celebrate International Women’s Day, honouring the women of TM as well as all women spearheading innovation and technology.
Supporting the United Nations’ efforts to recognise women and girls who are championing the advancement of transformative technology and digital education, the event was themed DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality and was officiated by YB Teo Nie Ching, Deputy Minister of Communications & Digital.
In addressing the event, YB Teo said, “Today marks a special occasion to celebrate the efforts and contributions of women from all walks of life and to recognise their role in families, workplaces and communities. This event hosted by TM also serves as a platform for the exchange of ideas and new perspectives about gender equality especially in today’s digital realities.
“As Malaysia continues to advance digitally, more conversations are needed about enabling greater inclusion and diversity in the technology and digital sector. We must also drive on why it is fundamental to ensure equal opportunities for digital literacy and access to online resources, while increasing the protection of women and girls in digital spaces.”
Echoing these sentiments about equality in the digital sector, Dato’ Imri Mokhtar, TM’s Group CEO explained, “As TM progresses towards becoming a human-centred TechCo, we believe that the most crucial element for our digital future is the growth and capabilities of our talents.
“With 37% of our top level management being women, we are pleased to launch ASPIRE: A Women’s Advancement Programme by TM. This 1-year leadership development programme aims to cultivate a new generation of women leaders, and tap into their unique perspectives and experiences to enrich TM’s innovation and long-term sustainability.”
With the first 30 high-performing employees already on-boarded in the programme, participants will be groomed to grow their professional image and personal branding, explore skills to lead, influence, negotiate and navigate today’s workplace, and gain opportunities to connect with peers, mentors and sponsors to enhance their future career progression.
This new programme serves as the latest in TM’s ongoing efforts to empower women, including its efforts to support the wider community.
This includes Yayasan TM (YTM), the foundation arm of TM, which offers scholarships that have benefitted high-performing students – with 49.5% of its current scholars studying in Malaysia and overseas made up of young women. At the same time, TM’s subsidiary Multimedia University recorded that 49.3% of its employed graduates were young women – a positive reflection in enabling equal opportunities for the next generation of game-changers.
Tapping into the insights of current women game-changers, the event included panellists Dr Sumitra Nair, Head and Senior Vice President Strategy & Policy, MDEC; Yuki Aizawa, Country Director Malaysia Chapter, Women in Tech Global Movement; and Mariam Jaafar, Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group, Singapore.
Moderated by TM’s Chief Human Capital Officer, Sarinah Abu Bakar – who is also serving as sponsoring mentor for the ASPIRE programme with Shanti Jusnita Johari, TM’s Chief Marketing Officer – the panel addressed issues such as the role of innovation and technology in empowering women and girls in Malaysia, the gap between urban and rural use of innovative technology, and the importance of women role models for today's youth.
“Today’s event and the launch of ASPIRE are part of our continuous commitment to enriching the prosperity and livelihoods of our Warga TM, and across the nation and beyond. The success of TM’s transformation journey is anchored on our dedicated workforce, loyal customers and local communities. Therefore, we see it as our duty and obligation to empower the lives of our people and communities, ensure greater digital inclusion, and prepare them for excellence in the digitalised future,” Dato’ Imri Mokhtar concluded.
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TM JOINS CANDLE SUBMARINE CABLE SYSTEM CONSORTIUM TO CONNECT MALAYSIA AND ASEAN COUNTRIES TO JAPAN
KUALA LUMPUR, September 22, 2025 – TM, Meta, SoftBank Corp., IPS Inc., PT XLSmart Telecom Sejahtera Tbk, and NEC Corporation are collaborating to develop the Candle submarine cable system. Candle is a 24-fiber pair, 8,000 km submarine cable system connecting Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, that is scheduled to begin operations in 2028. It will contribute to infrastructure expansion and secure redundant routes to meet the increasing demand for data communications driven by 5G and AI. This cable system will be one of the first in the Asia-Pacific region to use a 24-fiber pair cable, enabling superior traffic capacity to support the growing demand for communications in the region. Chairperson of the Candle Management Committee, Don Pang, said: “Candle represents a pivotal advancement in fortifying the region’s digital infrastructure. As the need for robust, high-speed connectivity grows, Candle will deliver greater network diversity and resilience along this essential corridor, leveraging state-of-the-art technology. This milestone reflects the deep collaboration among our partners and underscores our shared commitment to advancing digital inclusion and economic opportunity for over half a billion people in the Asia-Pacific region.” The partners from participating countries also provided their comments on the importance of this new system. Amar Huzaimi Md Deris, TM’s Group Chief Executive Officer said, “TM’s participation in the Candle submarine cable system project demonstrates our commitment to building resilient digital infrastructure that meets the growing demand for digital services and cloud-based, AI-driven innovation across Asia. It strengthens our ability to support hyperscalers, enterprises and global service providers in expanding their footprint across ASEAN, while reinforcing Malaysia’s role as ASEAN’s digital hub. This initiative bodes well with our aspiration to become a Digital Powerhouse by 2030—connecting Malaysia to the world, and the world to Malaysia.” “At Meta, we imagine a future where everyone has access to AI, personal superintelligence, and other emerging technologies to improve their lives and connect with each other. This is part of our commitment to seamlessly bring people together no matter where they are in the world.,” said Nico Roerich, Director, APAC Network Investments, Meta. “With the rapid advancement of generative AI and the Internet of Things (IoT), the demand for international telecommunications is expected to continue accelerating. CANDLE adopts a 24-fiber-pair architecture, making it one of the core foundations of next-generation social infrastructure that SoftBank is promoting. By integrating with other submarine cables such as JUPITER, ADC, and E2A, we will further enhance the diversity and redundancy of global communications networks originating from Japan, and strengthen Japan’s role as a digital gateway for Asia,” said Kimimasa Kudo, Vice President and Head of Global Business Division, Enterprise Unit, SoftBank Corp. "Our participation in this project reaffirms our commitment to play a significant role in the further development of digital infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region, which is vital to our operations in Japan, the Philippines, and Singapore. With our subsidiary, InfiniVAN, as the landing party in the Baler, Aurora Province on the eastern seaboard of the Philippines, this is one of many projects we have planned in support of developing the Philippines as a connectivity hub in Southeast Asia." said Koji Miyashita, CEO of IPS, Inc. “XLSMART will fully support the project and we believe the Candle cable will bring benefits for all consortium parties and Indonesia”, said Feby Sallyanto, Chief of Enterprise, PT XLSmart Telecom Sejahtera Tbk. Tomonori Uematsu, General Manager, Submarine Network Division, NEC Corporation, added, “NEC is a leading vendor in the submarine cable system business with over 60 years of experience. NEC is particularly strong in leading subsea projects in the Asia-Pacific region, having been responsible for eight optical submarine cable systems connecting Japan and Singapore, including ‘Candle.’ In this project, NEC will participate as a system integrator, providing everything from the manufacture of submarine cables and repeaters to route design, installation, and testing. Through the establishment of a highly reliable communication environment in the Asia region, NEC will contribute to the development of the digital economy.” This initiative is a milestone in collective partnerships and commitment to strengthening regional connectivity, ensuring secure and reliable international data transmission, and advancing the digital growth of communities and businesses across ASEAN.
Solid first half 2021 for TM: revenue up +8.2%, EBIT up +29.9%, dividend declared
First half 2021 Key Highlights (vs first half 2020) Group Revenue grew 8.2% to RM5.57 billion from RM5.15 billion Cost optimisation continues to yield results. Group Reported Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) increased by 29.9% to RM977.3 million, from RM752.4 million last year Group Reported Profit After Tax and Non-controlling Interests (PATAMI) rose 27.3% to RM544.0 million, compared to RM427.2 million last year Record breaking unifi customer growth; fixed broadband customer base grew 15% to 2.55 million Declares interim dividend of 7.0 sen per share totalling RM264.2 million in line with dividend policy Continues to focus on value creation and ESG for sustainable growth Telekom Malaysia Berhad's (TM) revenue for the first half of 2021 (1H2021) grew strongly by 8.2% to RM5.57 billion, compared to RM5.15 billion in the same period last year. In a statement today, the company said this achievement was driven by growth across all its customer segments – unifi, TM ONE and TM WHOLESALE. On the back of this higher revenue and better cost efficiency, Group EBIT rose by 29.9% to RM977.3 million, from RM752.4 million last year. Subsequently, Group PATAMI grew 27.3% to RM544.0 million, from RM427.2 million in the same period last year. The Company continues to invest in future growth by modernising its network and technology platforms, to deliver the best current and future solutions for its multi-segment customers. CAPEX spending in the first half of the year stood at RM597.0 million or 10.7% of revenue. Of the amount invested, 65% was for network access, 16% for core network, and the balance 19% for support systems. Fibre broadband of choice – highest ever new unifi customers recorded in 2Q2021 unifi recorded several operational milestones with more than 210,000 new customer activations in the second quarter of 2021 (2Q2021). This is the highest number of unifi activations in a quarter in its 11-year history. unifi achieved an important milestone of 2.0 million customers in May 2021. By the end of June, the overall fixed broadband customer base had gone up to 2.55 million, representing a solid 15% growth over the past 12 months since June 2020. This growth was enabled by the higher number of ports added in 2Q2021 and wider fibre network coverage, exceeding the targets committed in the JENDELA plan, achieving 138% of its commitment in 1H2021. unifi also increased its sales and installation capacity to meet strong fibre broadband demand. unifi also saw positive uptake of device bundles with the enhanced unifiYourWorld campaign offering smart lifestyle devices, unlocking the unlimited possibilities to enrich users' digital lifestyle and needs. unifi brought live streaming of the recent Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 on 13 HD channels for free via unifi PlayTV app and unifi Plus Box, to enable Malaysians to support our athletes competing at the games. Customer touchpoints and support remains in operation with stricter SOPs As more Malaysians are working from home, conducting business online, participating in online learning and keeping the family entertained while staying safely at home, TM observed that internet usage went up by 45% since the start of MCO in March 2020. All customer support services remain in operation with stricter SOPs to continuously serve customers. Customer care lines remain open and attended to over 3.6 million customer interactions in 1H2021. TMpoint outlets and key partner stores remain open for service applications and essential transactions while adhering to strict SOPs. TM is also expanding and renovating selected TMpoint outlets with localised flavour, self-serve kiosks and implementing many other improvements to enhance its customers' experience. New service installation and restoration activities remain available for customers with SOPs in place to ensure the safety of both, customers and TM personnel. Notably, TM activated unifi Rovers nationwide to help customers sign up easily. Due to the higher volume of interactions during this pandemic period, customers are encouraged to use self-serve digital channels such as the unifi portal and myunifi app which are available 24/7 for service registration, service diagnostics, account-related enquiries and payment. A more simplified and personalised digital bill was also introduced for bill payment convenience of customers. TM ONE is committed to accelerating MyDIGITAL aspirations with cutting-edge digital infrastructure and solutions TM ONE continues to be the digital enabler and trusted partner for enterprise and public sector customers by providing dependable connectivity and delivering new customer projects in 1H2021. As customers pursue to accelerate their digitalisation adoption, this has translated into new contracts and renewals. Following its appointment as the sole Malaysian Cloud Service Provider (CSP) under the MyDIGITAL blueprint, TM ONE sees growing demand for its Cloud services from enterprises and government agencies. In addition, TM ONE also served international demand to fulfil hyperscaled requirements as the local data centre provider. With its complete suite of cybersecurity solutions under TM ONE CYDEC, TM ONE has formed alliances with strong global and local cybersecurity players to further enhance its ability to detect and eliminate cyber threats for enterprise and public sector customers. This will help pave the way for digital trust and cyber resiliency to help nurture a safer and more robust national cyber ecosystem. TM WHOLESALE strengthens domestically, further builds partnership ecosystem globally Domestically, TM WHOLESALE continues its growth momentum as the preferred infrastructure partner for High Speed Broadband (HSBB) access services. It also achieved further expansion of infrastructure coverage and capacity for Next Generation Backhaul services for several mobile network operators. TM WHOLESALE also secured bandwidth capacity upgrades for major Domestic Wholesale Data solutions and services. Internationally, TM WHOLESALE strengthened its partnership ecosystem with more global telcos and hyperscalers for International Data services. TM WHOLESALE also secured more deals with global telcos and hyperscalers for International Ethernet services. It also expanded its digital media delivery network ecosystem with growth from domestic and international digital content players. Focused on value creation and ESG for sustainable growth TM continues to focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles of sustainable and ethical business practices in serving the nation: Governance: TM is committed to uncompromising integrity. All its suppliers have signed the TM Integrity Pledge and more than 90% of Warga TM have progressively completed the Uncompromising Integrity e-learning module. TM also ensures that its corruption mitigation practices are independently certified - having completed the Anti-Bribery Management System (ABMS) certification and the Organisational Anti-Corruption Plan (OACP). Social: TM aims to deliver social impact by ensuring the wellbeing of its Warga TM and the nation. TM is committed to bridging connectivity through the JENDELA plan. TM remains fully supportive of the Government's recovery plan - "Pelan Pemulihan Negara" - via its connectivity, digital infrastructure and solutions as well as various social contributions. Environment: TM continuously strives to reduce its annual carbon emissions from electricity usage through the retirement of old networks, implementation of an Energy Management System and improvement of energy-saving practices. TM is continuously improving these sustainability efforts while at the same time upholding its commitment to its stakeholders. Imri Mokhtar, Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of TM commenting on the results: "I am pleased to report that we have recorded a solid performance in the first half of the year and we are on track to meet our 2021 targets in line with market guidance. Coming off an exceptional first quarter, we recorded notable improvements in our 1H 2021 revenue and profitability against the same period last year. "This was driven by higher revenue achieved by all of our customer segments – unifi, TM ONE & TM WHOLESALE and better cost efficiency. The current nationwide movement control order (MCO) has certainly influenced our business landscape and customer operations, but we are delighted with the momentum of our value programmes and the commitment of our frontliners. "Our revenue in 1H2021 recorded an increase of 8.2% at RM5.57 billion against RM5.15 billion in the same period last year, driven by revenue growth from all customer segments. Our EBIT has increased by 29.9% from RM752.4 million to RM977.3 million. Malaysia's economic growth outlook for 2021 continues to be challenging with the prolonged movement restrictions brought about by Covid-19. Notwithstanding the headwinds, our role remains. We will continue to serve the nation by meeting the demand for internet and data, both at the retail and wholesale fronts. This is evident through the acceleration of the number of ports deployed and the fibre network expansion under our Jalinan Digital Negara (JENDELA) commitment, which is well ahead of schedule. We remain steadfast and will leverage our comprehensive connectivity, digital infrastructure and other smart solutions to support the nation's digital aspirations under the MyDIGITAL blueprint.
YTM launches RM1.5 million social impact grant for NGOs and CSOs to run programmes for the community
Grant to amplify benefits to society; application now open for eligible organisations. Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) aiming to expand the reach of their community-based programmes and increase the benefits to more Malaysians nationwide, may get a shot in the arm in the form of an additional source of funding, thanks to Yayasan TM (YTM)’s Social Impact Grant. The foundation arm of Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) recently launched the grant, adding to its many initiatives which are part of its ongoing transformation journey towards becoming a purpose-driven social impact foundation. As a start, YTM is offering a fund of RM1,500,000 in grants for the first phase. The fund is divided into two (2) categories, namely YTM Social Impact Gold Grant, with each grant ranging from RM100,000 to RM250,000 allocated for mid term projects (with the duration of up to one (1) year) while YTM Social Impact Silver Grant is meant for short term projects (with the duration of three (3) to six (6) months) with funding of RM50,000 to RM100,000 per grant. Izlyn Ramli, Director of YTM enthused, “As we embark on our ongoing social impact initiatives, we understand it takes collective and collaborative efforts to bring meaningful changes to the community. That is why at YTM, we are continuously looking for opportunities to work on and with more effective programmes, many of which are already being planned and initiated by wonderful teams out there; delivering positive changes and benefits to more Malaysians nationwide, making that much needed difference. We aim to accelerate our efforts in bringing assistance to those in need through a collaborative model with like-minded NGOs, CSOs, social enterprises, foundations, and community clubs/associations. So, to new and small NGOs as well as CSOs, let us help you get started or get moving on your programmes that address various social issues for marginalised communities.” “This grant supports YTM's three (3) pillars: Education, Community & Nation Building, as well as Tourism, Culture & Heritage. We hope that as we expand the network and reach of worthy initiatives and organisations, by working together we can scale up more effectively to amplify the social impact for communities in need in Malaysia, and perhaps even beyond,” she added. Applications are now open and ends on 31 August 2022. YTM welcomes all eligible organisations to participate and find out more about YTM Social Impact Grant, by visiting https://tm.com.my/yayasantm
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