Screenshots

READ ON for the Eastin Party, 12.30pm Nov 19. 'Bring along your company rubber-stamp'.

[ UPDATED ] If there are any righteous consumer protection organsations left -- and I am looking at FOMCA and NCCC -- they should get the government to ban the entire SMS content provider industry and stop consumers from being fleeced and cheated by the millions!

Here are the reasons why.

1 ) MCMC is useless

MCMC is useless not because the lay is weak. MCMC is useless because it's now being run by a useless chairman in Dr Halim Shafie, a tired and retired career bureaucrat who continued to condone rogue SMS Scammers.

October 4, board members of the MCMC convened to deliberate, among other things, on the rampant SMS Scams that ripped off millions of ringgit from the unassuming consumers.

According to highly-placed sources, three SMS content provider companies, who are repeat offenders of the industry guideline currently enforced, had been identified for their ASP(C) Licenses to be suspended for one year.

One month had gone past since the October 4 MCMC Board Meeting, and Halim Shafie is still sitting on his ass.

One year had also gone past since the SMScam was exposed, and MCMC has failed to offer any institutionalised resolve to clean up the mess.

We want to be fair to allow Halim reasonable time to execute the Board Members' decision. Screenshots will publish the names of the three rogue companies at the right time if nothing happens.

2 ) Amarjit Singh a/l Kartha Singh equally clueless useless

Those who had hoped for someone who had been breathing at Ali Hanafiah's neck to make an effective cyberlaw enforcer after getting his promotion and pay increase -- sorry, you can dream on.

Effective October 1, Amarjit Singh a/l Kartha Singh, fomerly Under Secretary at the Licensing & Regulatory Division, Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications (KTAK) was transferred to head the Content, Consumer and Network Security Division at MCMC -- the very division to clean up the act involving the SMS Scam.

He was optionally retired from the civil service, and re-appointed into the MCMC, a statutory Commission with enhanced remuneration package in addition to his pension from the civil service.

The predecessor, Mohd Ali Hanafiah, on whom Amarjit had been dishing out policy imperatives from the Ministry all these years, was reassigned to a newly created position within MCMC.

Right now, even players in the SMS content provider industry are passing round a joke, questioning what Amarjit could do better than what couldn't a bumiputra officer he inherited from.

Today, it looks more true than true. Amarjit is yet another tired and retired career bureaucrat in the mirroe of Halim Shafie.

Amarjit couldn't even enforce what had materially been initiated by his predecessor to deal with the SMS Scammers.

3 ) Scammers offered 'fines', they don't pay and MCMC won't mind

Collectively, Halim and Amarjit, who were tied to the same supervisor-subordinate umbilical cord when they both served in the same ministry, had failed in their job.

It is a known fact that MCMC favours and protects its licensees to the extent of sinful pampering. Take an example. Those who have been found breaching licensing conditions stipulated in ASP(C) were offered compound, with no firm timeline to pay up.

By standard operating procedure -- yes, MCMC is yet to ISO-certified for methodology and processes -- the rogue CPs will be identified and ther names will be updated in the MCMC website once the compound has been paid up.

November 4, The New Sunday Times announced basing on MCMC sources, that the regulator had found five SMS Content Provider companies in breach of their ASP(C) licensing conditions and offered the respective compounds. See news-clip below:

If you check the MCMC website, to date, four out of the five CPs had not paid up and they are: T-Force Technology Sdn Bhd (Coumpound: RM190,000), Nextnation Network Sdn Bhd (RM60,000), Dubaitech marketing Sdn Bhd (RM50,000) and Sybase365 Asia Sdn Bhd (RM150,000).

It is pertinent to highlight the fact that Dubaitech marketing is an associate of Nextnation. In fact, Dubaitech's pointman Rafli Ridwan uses the Nextnation email domain at rafli@nextnationnet.com.

Comparing the notes, interestingly, names the October 4 MCMC Board Meeting identified for suspension of their ASP(C) licenses appeared among those who were offered compound and hadn't paid up.

4 ) The Eastin Party, Nov 19, 12.30pm

Meanwhile, an SMS content service provider identified and 'offered compound' by the MCMC is organising a congregation of CPs for a luncheon meet this afternoon. Attendees are asked to bring along their company rubber-stamps.

This is the SMS forwarded to Screenshots over the weekend:

Dear friends, i h emailed 2 u about MCMC held dialogue w CPs on 20.11.07, tuesday, 10.00am at MCMC Auditorium. Pls attend n speak out. On 19.11.07. monday,12.30pm, we h buffet lunch at Lobby, Eastin Hotel. Pls attend, bring company's stampfor memorandum n discuss the matter. TQ for your support and cooperation, kslim.

There was confusion subsequent to the SMS. Some CPs were asking whether the luncheon was organised by the Malaysia Multimedia Content Providers Association (MMCP), the de facto trade body representing the industry players.

This prompted an email from MMCP president, Romuald Marappan, who blasted an email to all its members late yesterday afternoon:

Over the weekend i received a number of SMS's requesting information on a memorandum that is to be handed over to MCMC.

For clarification, MMCP has no such plans to submit any memorandum nor has it been working on one. The Forum being organized by MCMC & MMCP, is thought to be a more effective manner for CPs to have a "one to one" session with the regulators.

I am told, MCMC has devised a means to gather information from all during that day.

Should you need further clarification, please do contact Jaan Hao or myself.

Romuald

Meanwhile, some CPs are wondering if MCMC had adopted the 'divide-and-rule' tactic -- ( 1 ) by recognising the same CPs it has categorised as "REPEAT OFFENDERS" and ( 2 ) by splitting up the industry association -- and allowed certain parties to hijack the forum it jointly organises with MMCP, scheduled for tomorrow.

5 ) Memorandum: With or without MMCP endorsement?

Despite Romuald's email denial that MMCP has any plans to "submit any memorandum nor has it been working on one", the same person has been listed in the Hari Raya Party -- see Screenshots October 24 -- as having been invited to give a briefing in relation to the supposed memorandum that the CPs are to bring their company rubber-stamps to seal at Eatin Hotel this afternoon.

Draft of the suggested 'Proposal' (or what is now slated as part of the 'Memorandum") was distributed to the Hari Raya attendees. Screenshots was extended a copy, available here in PDF.

List of attendees among the CPs patronising the Hari Raya Party and minutes taken is available here in PDF.

In the final analysis, we should watch Halim Shafie's steps at the dialogue tomorrow. Fould-proof protection of the consumers, who are potential victims of the SMS Scammers, will be determined there and then.

But we have a painless, non-expensive and immediately lethal solution to all these mess. Ban the damned SMS CP industry -- the same way the 600 Premier Voice Content scam was killed.