Telekom Malaysia (TM) announced on Monday that it has clinched a RM1.25 billion (US$265 million) deal with the Malaysian government to develop and operate a new AI-powered next-generation 999 emergency response system.
Under a concession agreement signed with the Ministry of Communications, TM subsidiary TM Technology Services (TM Tech) will design, develop, install, operate and manage the Next Generation Emergency Services 999 (NG999), which will replace the existing Malaysian Emergency Response System (MERS999) sometime next year.
According to TM, NG999 is designed as an integrated digital system that enhances sharing of resources and data between emergency responders and relevant central agencies. NG999 will integrate web-based digital maps, caller IDs, geolocation services and mobile smart apps into emergency incident handling, along with big data analytics and AI, which it says will improve emergency response times and enable more effective emergency responses.
“TM’s comprehensive role will cover network and platform infrastructure, call management, and other support services,” said TM Group CEO Amar Huzaimi Md Deris in a
He also said TM will introduce a new NG999 mobile app that enables registered users to send text, photos and videos to emergency responders. "This will improve 11 communication quality between callers and emergency responders, thereby speeding up service delivery.”
Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching told the Bernama news agency that the concession contract with TM Tech is for 12 years, which includes one year to develop and implement the NG999 system. She also said that the NG999 system will be expanded to over 800 locations across the country, which is double the number of locations
MERS999 is also operated by TM, which was awarded a government concession worth RM334 million in January 2009 to develop and operate it. However, according to Barkwell Holland Group, which did consultancy work on the project, MERS999 – which was intended to unify and centralise emergency response services across Malaysia – has been plagued with operational problems and slow response times, with both users and emergency responders being unhappy with the system.
In 2022, according to media reports, the state government in Sabah was so unhappy with MERS999 that it seriously considered setting up its own emergency call centre staffed by locals more familiar with local culture and geographical
Not helping matters is that the system has long been plagued with prank calls, silent calls and non-emergency calls, although Teo said the number of such calls is declining. As of June, MERS999 was fielding 15,000 to 16,000 prank calls per month, compared to 19,000 in 2023 and up to 31,000 in 2022, she said.
According to report from Malaysia Insider in 2014, quoting then-Communication and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek, only 2.3% of MERS999 calls were genuine
