Kota Kinabalu, July 01, 2009: The construction of the telecommunication tower near Taman Tanaki in Penampang is part of a nationwide cellular coverage improvement programme carried out with the State Government's blessing through a fast track approval procedure.
The project is subject to compliance with all technical requirements, said Common Tower Technologies Sdn Bhd (CTTSB) Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Haji Rahman Ghani.
CTTSB is a subsidiary jointly owned by Warisan Harta Sabah Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned investment holding company of the State Government and KKIPC Sdn Bhd.
The construction of the tower is under a programme referred to as TIME 2 Project initiated by the Federal Government through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) with full support from the State Government under the Private Funding Initiative (PFI).
In accordance with the Federal Government's directive, the State Government had in 2005 appointed CTTSB to construct, own and lease telecommunication towers to the three major cellular companies (Celcos).
The TIME 2 Project aims to promote common use of facility and infrastructure by the telecommunication companies and concurrently assist them to provide and expand cellular telecommunication coverage to areas with high population, along major roads, tourist destinations and industries.
In this respect, Rahman said the management of CTTSB had also submitted the relevant plans and technical approvals to the local authority for approval through the One-Stop Agency for Sabah on May 7 this year.
The submission of technical documents was made after ensuring compliance and obtaining the necessary approvals from various technical agencies following the guideline issued by the Local Government and Housing Ministry on Feb 8, 2006 to facilitate the TIME 2 Project in Sabah.
"CTTSB wishes to emphasise to all parties concerned that such towers are temporary structures only and shall be dismantled when no longer required by the Celcos," he said.
He said issues raised by the residents of the housing estates as published in the Daily Express report on June 25 had been explained during a dialogue on June 19 in the presence of Moyog Assemblyman, Donald Mojuntin, Penampang District Officer, District Council personnel together with CTTSB.
On the concerns of Radio Frequency (RF) radiation raised by the residents, he said the MCMC had explained and re-assured them that any ill-effects claims are baseless due to the non-harmful nature of the RF radiation.
On the issue of safety, Rahman said the structural design by qualified Civil and Structural Engineers and integrity of towers built under the TIME 2 Project were of heavy duty specifications as agreed by the Celcos and CTTSB.
"In order to ensure highest quality, towers can only be sourced from several reputable tower fabricators nationwide, which were approved following a pre-qualification process by Celcos. The approved tower fabricators are also required to provide warranty for their product," he said.
As for the minimum distance of the structure to the nearest residential building, MCMC had certified that this had been met in compliance with the guidelines issued by the Housing and Local Government Ministry 2002.
Specified towers exceeding 45m tall must be situated 30m away from the nearest residential building.
Rahman said based on the State Government's commitment and directive to all relevant authorities to ensure the speedy and successful implementation of the TIME 2 Project for the benefit of the people and Celcos in Sabah.
"CTTSB, being a state-backed company wishes to express its gratitude to all State and Federal Government agencies and departments in Sabah that has given their full co-operation and support in order to ensure the project is implemented smoothly," he said.
It was reported that the residents were dismayed when seeing the tower being built near their houses.
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