In recognition of its transformative approach to software and technology that can lead to the creation of new approaches and prospects
Telekom Research & Development Sdn Bhd (TM R&D), the innovation arm of Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM), recently won the Innovative Tech Companies of the Year Award at the Asia Corporate Excellence and Sustainability Awards (ACES) 2022, organised by MORS Group. The award was conferred to TM R&D in recognition of its transformative approach to software and technology, demonstrating that its tech innovations can lead to the creation of new approaches and prospects.
Dr Sharlene Thiagarajah, Chief Executive Officer, TM R&D accepted the award from Shanggari B., Chief Executive Officer of MORS Group and Luis Nieto, one of the juries for the ACES Awards 2022.
“This is a proud moment for the TM R&D team. Winning this award illustrates that we are on the right track. The transformative approach in our work will help propel Malaysia to be a nation of producers, instead of consumers. Our ability to produce will lead to greater sustainability of our country,” Dr Sharlene expressed her gratitude on receiving the award. “Our achievements are shaped by the discipline, focus and determination we have instilled, and I would like to thank our team for their commitment towards excellence.”
TM R&D is a world-class R&D company that helps businesses solve operational issues and co-create solutions for the global market. It focuses on intelligent platforms, IR4.0 technologies and connectivity to create smarter business ecosystems. The company strives to stay relevant with new innovative solutions that the market cannot do without and takes on projects that provide multifold benefits to organisations.
Among its strengths is the local in-house talents that can make, create and innovate as well as provide thought leadership on infrastructure for the future. Acknowledging that nurturing talent is crucial to the business, TM R&D also offers emerging skills learning and development programmes such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Data Science & Analytics and Data Engineering for its employees.
Because its products and solutions are developed in-house, TM R&D is able to customise its innovations based on customers’ needs, addressing their specific pain points and meeting their customers demand (B2B2C) – embracing the Group’s aspiration of becoming a human-centred TechCo. Every product and solution that is developed contains embedded security, analytics and AI hence expanding its functionalities and delivering maximum benefits to the users.
TM R&D’s main aspiration is to create and deliver the next Unicorn for TM and ultimately for Malaysia. To support this, it holds fast to the three (3) pillars of its business, which are exploratory research, co-creation with industry, and commercialisation thus making life and business easier with smarter ecosystems to enrich humanity and bring progress to nations.
The ACES awards is among the most prestigious accolades that recognise inspiring leaders and sustainability advocates cross-industry across Asia. The awards value services and achievements of businesses of any nature respected for their contributions to their communities and the world. For more info about ACES Awards, visit https://www.acesawards.com/.
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Yayasan TM launches art exhibition featuring works of gifted artists in conjuction with World Autism Awareness Day at Muzium Telekom
In conjunction with World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD) this year, Yayasan TM (YTM), the foundation arm of Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) in collaboration with Nak Seni and We&I presented the second edition of Seni Ekspresi Autisma (SESAMA) exhibition at Muzium Telekom taking place from 2nd until 30th of April 2022, showcasing the creative talents in visual arts as well as performing arts of gifted autistic artists. This exhibition is held to help nurture a more autism-friendly world through the arts; demonstrating a genuine expression of love, compassion and empathy for children and individuals on the spectrum, as they face their everyday challenges. SESAMA was officially launched on 2nd of April, last Saturday by the Honourable Senator Datuk Ras Adiba Radzi, President of OKU Sentral together with Izlyn Ramli, Director of YTM. Speaking at the launch event, Senator Datuk Ras Adiba said, “These children and individuals on the spectrum need our love and support. We need to have greater understanding and compassion towards them or else, we would have done them a great injustice. It isn't easy to look after persons with disabilities, but it's a beautiful and challenging journey, hence the reason we are here today, showcasing their incredible talents via an art exhibition, to empower them.” Meanwhile, YTM’s Izlyn said, “No one should ever be left behind, especially in the times we live in, where we’re enabled by so many wonderful life-changing technologies. YTM is delighted to celebrate WAAD and these amazing artistic talents who have come together to showcase their creative artwork. “Through the exhibition, we hope that audiences will look beyond their preconditions and see them for who they really are – beautiful souls and artists in their own right, deserving equal opportunities, standing shoulder to shoulder with their peers.” The exhibition launch event included the unveiling of “Rhythm Interactive Special Enabler” (RISE); an instructional book on the practical use of percussion for therapeutic benefits. This book, authored by Dr. Tan Swee Chuan and Edwin Nathaniel, is dedicated towards developing the musical talent of gifted children, providing insights into teaching students with different types and varying levels of learning challenges. The book launch was supported by Musicians for Musicians (MFM). Apart from the exhibition, YTM is also introducing its “Ramadan Buffet at Muzium Telekom” by Nomad Market, offering many local and international varieties to delight any food lover. The Ramadan Buffet is set to begin daily from 11th of April 2022 every day and on weekends; complete with a Ramadan Nite Bazaar with stalls selling goodies from local artists and entrepreneurs! YTM and its partners invite all to come and experience the free-admission SESAMA exhibition, from 2nd – 30th April 2022 (12.00PM – 6.00PM, Tuesday to Sunday) showcasing the journey of five gifted artists. Come and join us for Iftar and be inspired by the amazing artwork during this holy month of Ramadan.
Solid first half 2021 for TM: revenue up +8.2%, EBIT up +29.9%, dividend declared
First half 2021 Key Highlights (vs first half 2020) Group Revenue grew 8.2% to RM5.57 billion from RM5.15 billion Cost optimisation continues to yield results. Group Reported Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) increased by 29.9% to RM977.3 million, from RM752.4 million last year Group Reported Profit After Tax and Non-controlling Interests (PATAMI) rose 27.3% to RM544.0 million, compared to RM427.2 million last year Record breaking unifi customer growth; fixed broadband customer base grew 15% to 2.55 million Declares interim dividend of 7.0 sen per share totalling RM264.2 million in line with dividend policy Continues to focus on value creation and ESG for sustainable growth Telekom Malaysia Berhad's (TM) revenue for the first half of 2021 (1H2021) grew strongly by 8.2% to RM5.57 billion, compared to RM5.15 billion in the same period last year. In a statement today, the company said this achievement was driven by growth across all its customer segments – unifi, TM ONE and TM WHOLESALE. On the back of this higher revenue and better cost efficiency, Group EBIT rose by 29.9% to RM977.3 million, from RM752.4 million last year. Subsequently, Group PATAMI grew 27.3% to RM544.0 million, from RM427.2 million in the same period last year. The Company continues to invest in future growth by modernising its network and technology platforms, to deliver the best current and future solutions for its multi-segment customers. CAPEX spending in the first half of the year stood at RM597.0 million or 10.7% of revenue. Of the amount invested, 65% was for network access, 16% for core network, and the balance 19% for support systems. Fibre broadband of choice – highest ever new unifi customers recorded in 2Q2021 unifi recorded several operational milestones with more than 210,000 new customer activations in the second quarter of 2021 (2Q2021). This is the highest number of unifi activations in a quarter in its 11-year history. unifi achieved an important milestone of 2.0 million customers in May 2021. By the end of June, the overall fixed broadband customer base had gone up to 2.55 million, representing a solid 15% growth over the past 12 months since June 2020. This growth was enabled by the higher number of ports added in 2Q2021 and wider fibre network coverage, exceeding the targets committed in the JENDELA plan, achieving 138% of its commitment in 1H2021. unifi also increased its sales and installation capacity to meet strong fibre broadband demand. unifi also saw positive uptake of device bundles with the enhanced unifiYourWorld campaign offering smart lifestyle devices, unlocking the unlimited possibilities to enrich users' digital lifestyle and needs. unifi brought live streaming of the recent Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 on 13 HD channels for free via unifi PlayTV app and unifi Plus Box, to enable Malaysians to support our athletes competing at the games. Customer touchpoints and support remains in operation with stricter SOPs As more Malaysians are working from home, conducting business online, participating in online learning and keeping the family entertained while staying safely at home, TM observed that internet usage went up by 45% since the start of MCO in March 2020. All customer support services remain in operation with stricter SOPs to continuously serve customers. Customer care lines remain open and attended to over 3.6 million customer interactions in 1H2021. TMpoint outlets and key partner stores remain open for service applications and essential transactions while adhering to strict SOPs. TM is also expanding and renovating selected TMpoint outlets with localised flavour, self-serve kiosks and implementing many other improvements to enhance its customers' experience. New service installation and restoration activities remain available for customers with SOPs in place to ensure the safety of both, customers and TM personnel. Notably, TM activated unifi Rovers nationwide to help customers sign up easily. Due to the higher volume of interactions during this pandemic period, customers are encouraged to use self-serve digital channels such as the unifi portal and myunifi app which are available 24/7 for service registration, service diagnostics, account-related enquiries and payment. A more simplified and personalised digital bill was also introduced for bill payment convenience of customers. TM ONE is committed to accelerating MyDIGITAL aspirations with cutting-edge digital infrastructure and solutions TM ONE continues to be the digital enabler and trusted partner for enterprise and public sector customers by providing dependable connectivity and delivering new customer projects in 1H2021. As customers pursue to accelerate their digitalisation adoption, this has translated into new contracts and renewals. Following its appointment as the sole Malaysian Cloud Service Provider (CSP) under the MyDIGITAL blueprint, TM ONE sees growing demand for its Cloud services from enterprises and government agencies. In addition, TM ONE also served international demand to fulfil hyperscaled requirements as the local data centre provider. With its complete suite of cybersecurity solutions under TM ONE CYDEC, TM ONE has formed alliances with strong global and local cybersecurity players to further enhance its ability to detect and eliminate cyber threats for enterprise and public sector customers. This will help pave the way for digital trust and cyber resiliency to help nurture a safer and more robust national cyber ecosystem. TM WHOLESALE strengthens domestically, further builds partnership ecosystem globally Domestically, TM WHOLESALE continues its growth momentum as the preferred infrastructure partner for High Speed Broadband (HSBB) access services. It also achieved further expansion of infrastructure coverage and capacity for Next Generation Backhaul services for several mobile network operators. TM WHOLESALE also secured bandwidth capacity upgrades for major Domestic Wholesale Data solutions and services. Internationally, TM WHOLESALE strengthened its partnership ecosystem with more global telcos and hyperscalers for International Data services. TM WHOLESALE also secured more deals with global telcos and hyperscalers for International Ethernet services. It also expanded its digital media delivery network ecosystem with growth from domestic and international digital content players. Focused on value creation and ESG for sustainable growth TM continues to focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles of sustainable and ethical business practices in serving the nation: Governance: TM is committed to uncompromising integrity. All its suppliers have signed the TM Integrity Pledge and more than 90% of Warga TM have progressively completed the Uncompromising Integrity e-learning module. TM also ensures that its corruption mitigation practices are independently certified - having completed the Anti-Bribery Management System (ABMS) certification and the Organisational Anti-Corruption Plan (OACP). Social: TM aims to deliver social impact by ensuring the wellbeing of its Warga TM and the nation. TM is committed to bridging connectivity through the JENDELA plan. TM remains fully supportive of the Government's recovery plan - "Pelan Pemulihan Negara" - via its connectivity, digital infrastructure and solutions as well as various social contributions. Environment: TM continuously strives to reduce its annual carbon emissions from electricity usage through the retirement of old networks, implementation of an Energy Management System and improvement of energy-saving practices. TM is continuously improving these sustainability efforts while at the same time upholding its commitment to its stakeholders. Imri Mokhtar, Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of TM commenting on the results: "I am pleased to report that we have recorded a solid performance in the first half of the year and we are on track to meet our 2021 targets in line with market guidance. Coming off an exceptional first quarter, we recorded notable improvements in our 1H 2021 revenue and profitability against the same period last year. "This was driven by higher revenue achieved by all of our customer segments – unifi, TM ONE & TM WHOLESALE and better cost efficiency. The current nationwide movement control order (MCO) has certainly influenced our business landscape and customer operations, but we are delighted with the momentum of our value programmes and the commitment of our frontliners. "Our revenue in 1H2021 recorded an increase of 8.2% at RM5.57 billion against RM5.15 billion in the same period last year, driven by revenue growth from all customer segments. Our EBIT has increased by 29.9% from RM752.4 million to RM977.3 million. Malaysia's economic growth outlook for 2021 continues to be challenging with the prolonged movement restrictions brought about by Covid-19. Notwithstanding the headwinds, our role remains. We will continue to serve the nation by meeting the demand for internet and data, both at the retail and wholesale fronts. This is evident through the acceleration of the number of ports deployed and the fibre network expansion under our Jalinan Digital Negara (JENDELA) commitment, which is well ahead of schedule. We remain steadfast and will leverage our comprehensive connectivity, digital infrastructure and other smart solutions to support the nation's digital aspirations under the MyDIGITAL blueprint.
TM recognised as employer of choice at Graduates’ Choice Awards 2020 and World HRD Congress 2020
The Company was voted as among the top by university students across Malaysia. Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) was recently chosen as one of Malaysia's Most Attractive Graduate Employers to Work for in 2021 in conjunction with the 3rd Graduates' Choice Awards 2020, organised by Talentbank. The Company was ranked first in the Government-Linked Companies (GLC) category and top three (3) in the Telecommunications Category. Recognised by over 750 organisations nationwide, the Graduates' Choice Award is an esteemed award which gives recognition to outstanding organisations that demonstrate exceptional employer branding as voted by over 24,000 university students across Malaysia. In addition, TM was also recently awarded three (3) awards at the 11th Asia's Best Employer Brand Awards in the following categories: Best Employer Brand Excellence in Training Innovation in Recruitment Hosted by the Employer Branding Institute, World HRD Congress and Star of the Industry Group, Asia's Best Employer Brands Awards recognises efforts of organisations in the Asian region that have demonstrated excellent employer branding through effective talent strategies, talent development and talent innovation. The event was recently held virtually in conjunction with the 29th World HRD Congress 2020, one of the largest Human Resource global conferences, where leaders and professionals in Human Resource field from over 133 countries gather to discuss about Human Resource best practices. Meanwhile, earlier in February this year, in conjunction with the 28th World HRD Congress, TM received two (2) more awards namely Best Workplace Practices at the Global HR Excellence Awards and Employer of Choice at the HR Tech Award & Conferences held in Mumbai. Commenting on the awards, Farid Basir, Chief Human Capital Officer, TM said, "As the enabler of Digital Malaysia, these awards are a solid testament of the Company's commitment and efforts in nurturing digitally-skilled Warga TM across all functions. We are also continuously strengthening our employees' capabilities and competencies towards building a future-proof workforce, not only for the Company but also for the country." "The driving force behind our success thus far is our people, Warga TM, who make up the great team within TM. All these acknowledgements are dedicated to their hard work and determination in giving the best to our customers, the communities and to the nation. As an employer of choice, we have put in place various initiatives to develop and equip Warga TM with the necessary skills and knowledge for the future through trainings and upskilling programmes," he added. Besides that, specifically for youths and graduates seeking for job opportunities, TM has also organised various initiatives and programmes which include the Professional Training and Education for Growing Entrepreneurs (PROTÉGÉ) Programme in collaboration with the Government, launching of TM Executive Leadership Industry Trainee (ELIT) programme for Yayasan TM scholars, career webinars and participation in virtual career fairs. This aligns with the Company's aspiration to be positioned as an Employer of Choice for future talents.