Malaysia enforces pre-paid registration scheme

The Malaysian government has made it compulsory for the country’s mobile network operators to register all pre-paid mobile phone users by the end of this year. The requirement is aimed at assisting the authorities in tracing culprits responsible for illegal or abusive calls and SMS messages. With around 14 million unregistered pre-paid users, the government admits that the measure will create a huge task for cellcos, but has stressed that its orders must be carried out. Existing pay-as-you-go customers will have to register their SIM cards and personal details when they next top up their call credit.