MIRI: The Secondhand Dealers Act 1946, which was enforced in Sarawak on April 2, must be fully implemented to ensure no one profits from stolen metal and cables.
Assistant Minister of Communication Datuk Lee Kim Shin said collective and stern action must be taken against cable thieves, who are causing a nuisance to the public and losses to utility companies.
“We must take stern action against cable theft as it has been going on for a long time now. From January to June there was a total of 119 cable cases belonging to Telekom Malaysia. It means that there were more than 20 cases on average in a month,” Lee said during a dialogue with Telekom Malaysia (TM) Berhad yesterday.
“The police together with utility companies such as Telekom and Laku (Northern Sarawak Water Board) must go down and check on every scrap (metal) dealer and collector in Miri to ensure that nobody sells metals that might be stolen. Check their records and lists.” Lee also reminded scrap metal dealers and collectors to report to the police those suspected of selling stolen items.
He suggested TM consider replacing copper cables with fibre optic cables, migrating services in cable theft prone areas to wireless services, burying overhead cables or increasing the height of overhead cables, pole greasing as well as increasing the protection of manholes for underground cables.
“The public are urged to lodge a report should they come across or witness a cable theft incident as it could disrupt the services provided.
“Should the public witness any suspicious activity, they should immediately report the incident to the police so that appropriate action can be taken by the authorities,” he added.
Telekom Malaysia, through TM Miri, has intensified its efforts against cable theft through programmes with the local community, specifically in Permyjaya, Senadin and Tudan.
The i-Watch programme aims to raise awareness of the severity of cable theft incidents among the community and how they could affect their lives, particularly during emergencies.
The i-Watch system is directly connected to the local control centre to warn dedicated TM staff via SMS if there is any attempt to steal or cut telecommunication cables.