KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 20 — The SaveMe 999 mobile application isn’t required to call for emergency assistance as the 999-voice service remains the primary channel, said Telekom Malaysia (TM) today.
The telco, which manages the new NG MERS 999 emergency system, acknowledged that some Malaysians were unable to get through to 999 and experienced slower emergency response in the early phase of the NG MERS 999 migration.
“We understand the concerns this has created for individuals and families in moments of urgency, and rest assured we are treating every incident with the highest level of priority,” said TM in a statement.
“We would like to emphasise that the 999-voice service remains and continues to operate as the primary channel for emergency assistance. SaveME999 mobile application serves as a complementary channel for reaching emergency services.”
It added that upon migration, the new NG MERS 999 system experienced a surge in call volume immediately to about 70,000 calls a day, up from an average of 50,000 daily calls in the old MERS 999 system.
“About 5 per cent of the calls were genuine emergencies, with the rest being silent and prank calls. However, the number of actual emergency incidents remained unchanged, ranging at an average of 3,500 emergency reports dispatched per day,” said TM.
“This sudden spike affected system performance, and we have taken immediate measures to restore the service including increasing server capacity and optimising the servers’ configuration. Additional resources were also mobilised in the call centre to cope with the high-volume calls.”
The telco explained that Malaysia upgraded the 17-year-old MERS 999 platform because it had reached its technical limits and could no longer support the country’s evolving emergency requirements.
“NG MERS 999 was introduced to enhance accessibility, strengthen multi-agency coordination, and align Malaysia with modern international emergency standards.”
