Jaring, which launched as Malaysia’s first internet service provider (ISP) in 1992 and rolled out the country’s first commercial high speed internet options in 2000, has reportedly been put under the care of a liquidator. According to Malaysian news outlet the Daily Express, in August 2014 Jaring had been acquired by Utusan Printcorp for more than MYR100 million (USD28 million), but just a few months later, local press reported that some 70 Utusan Printcorp staff had held a protest to demand unpaid salaries, with Jaring staff also reportedly having gone unpaid for as long as three months at that date.
In response to the latest development, former Jaring CEO Dr Mohamed Awang Lah was cited as saying: ‘I no longer have any links with this company after retiring in 2010. However, to me this incident is sad and happy at the same time. Sad because the entity that introduced internet service in Malaysia has come to this. Happy because a more responsible party has been given the duty to manage it temporarily … I hope it will be turned around soon.’