Telekom Malaysia Business Case Study

Exploring Business Growth through

Scenario Planning at Telekom Malaysia Berhad ( * )

1. Telekom Malaysia Berhad: an introduction

Telekom Malaysia (TM) Berhad establishes, maintains and provides telecommunication and related

services under a license issued by the Ministry of Energy, Telecommunications and Posts of

Malaysia. Other business activities include printing and publications, consultancy and engineering

services, public telephone services, provision of mobile telecommunication services, investment

holding and other services relating to telecommunications.

Telekom Malaysia Berhad looks large, not only in the specific context of the Malaysian

telecommunications industry, but also in ordinary life. Since it opened in October 1996, the Menara

Kuala Lumpur 421 meters tower, it provided Malaysia a national landmark that places the country

as a qualified site in the world map in terms of tourism, telecommunications, and development.

Menara is the highest telecommunications tower in Southeast Asia and the 4th in the world. As a

source of pride for every Malaysian, it has become a “must-see” destination for every tourist with

The case should be used as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate "solutions" to problems.

its observation deck and revolving restaurant at 282 meters above the ground. Undoubtedly, it was

the singular showpiece that symbolized the nation’s claim to leadership in the telecommunications

industry in the region. TM claimed a large stake in this national pride.

Aside from towering over the nation’s collective cultural psyche, TM has also been playing a

crucial role in the Malaysian economy. In a relatively small nation of a little more than 20 million

people, it is a big employer with more than 25,000 personnel. It has the largest capitalization on the

Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange.

Like all giants, TM had its infancy. It was no more than a single 43 kilometre copper line traversing

the dense jungles of Perak that connected the British Resident’s office in Kuala Kangsar to his

assistant in Taiping. Several years after, it included the first submarine cable that connected

Province Wellesley with Penang. Through a merger between the Telecommunications Department

of Peninsular Malaysia and the Posts and Telecommunications Department of Sabah and Sarawak,

Jabatan Telekom Malaysia was born. Then it was privatized in 1987 as Syarikat Telekom Malaysia