Perak to dismantle illegal telecommunications towers

The Perak government is to dismantle all illegally erected telecommunications towers and those for which the annual permits are not being paid.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir said today there were more than 2,800 such towers belonging to various telcos in the state.

"So far, we have only 1,400 legal telecommunications towers; the number of illegal towers is more than double that," he said to reporters after opening a telco infrastructure development workshop and seminar here.

Zambry said the reluctance of the telcos to pay the annual RM2,000 permit for every tower cost the state government RM20 million in revenue.

"All the states are imposing the same rule on permits but in Perak the telcos have cited all kinds of reasons, including operational costs, to refrain from paying up," he said.

Zambry said stern action would be taken soon, after the guidelines on the construction of telecommunications towers and renewal of telecommunications structure permits had been finalised.

Earlier, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Communications and Multimedia Committee chairman Datuk Nolee Ashilin Mohammed Radzi said the draft of the guidelines were in the final stage of preparation, and this included discussions with the stakeholders. - BERNAMA