by ASILA JALIL / pic by MUHD AMIN NAHARUL
PARTI Pejuang Tanah Air urged the government to clarify the charges against, or any pending court cases that have been alleged against newly appointed Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) CEO Augustus Ralph Marshall (picture) in other countries.
The party’s economic bureau Armin Baniaz Pahamin stated that two incidents where requests for arrest were made against Marshall in Indonesia and India.
He said on March 29, 2019, the Jakarta Post published a request by the National Police for Interpol to issue a red alert for the arrest of Marshall for the illegal use of operational funds at a company in Indonesia.
Although the matter is resolved, Armin said it is unknown if it was resolved in an out of court settlement or if it was a court judgment.
He further said on Sept 24, 2016, Bloomberg published news that India Court issued a warrant of arrest for Marshall in connection with an investigation into alleged phone-licence corruption.
“Thus, Pejuang urges the government to urgently clarify on Augustus Ralph Marshall’s charges or pending court cases (if any) that have been alleged against him in India by the Central Bureau of Investigation, Indonesia and in any other countries.
“This is in tandem with the Ministry of Finance (MoF) official statement on March 1, 2021, stating DNB will be managed based on ‘appropriate governance framework and global best practices’, among others.
“We urge the ministry to start upholding transparency by showcasing the credibility and integrity of the appointee in question,” he said in a statement yesterday.
The court in India had issued non-bailable arrest warrants against Marshall and Tan Sri T Ananda Krishnan. Marshall was the deputy chairman at Astro All Asia Networks Ltd controlled by Ananda at the time.
Earlier this month the MoF announced the appointment of board members for DNB, which will be the special-purpose vehicle that will roll out the country’s 5G network.
The ministry’s secretary general Datuk Asri Hamidon was appointed as DNB chairman.
Other board members appointed included Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit DG Datuk Seri Dr Yusof Ismail, Datuk Mohamed Shahril Tarmizi and Datuk Muthanna Abdullah.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said recently that it will regulate and monitor DNB via the relevant regulatory tools under the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) 1998.
This to ensure optimum use of spectrum and that all telecommunications service providers will have open, fair and equal access in obtaining wholesale 5G network services for the development of retail services based on 5G technology, among others.
Read our previous report here
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