The EU and US have warned the Malaysian government to not use Huawei equipment in 5G infrastructure, as the new administration was reportedly mulling plans to deviate from its controversial single 5G network strategy by building a second.
Financial Times reported delegates from both continents wrote to the Malaysian administration in April to warn against the national security risks posed by Huawei. Western nations have in the past claimed the vendor provides a backdoor to telecoms infrastructure for spying by the Chinese government, a claim the vendor has long denied.
US ambassador to Malaysia Brian McFeeters said there are “national security risks” if the Malaysian government strays away from its original plan. The last Malaysian administration planned to manage a single 5G network under its vehicle Digital Nasional Berhad, which will wholesale to operators.
Swedish vendor Ericsson won the contract to be the exclusive infrastructure supplier to Malaysia’s 5G network.
The government has pledged to deploy 5G to 80% of the population by the end of this year, reported Financial Times, despite the multiple setbacks stemming from operator pushback.
