Bids farewell to Dato’ Rafaai Samsi on his retirement after 40 years of service in TM
Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) today announced the appointment of Dato' Mohd Rais Azhar as its new Chief Technology & Innovation Officer (CTIO) with effect from 18 February 2018, following the retirement of Dato' Rafaai Samsi as the CTIO of TM on 14 February 2018. Prior to this, Dato' Rais was the Deputy CTIO, and in addition to his role as the new CTIO, Dato' Mohd Rais remains the Chief Information Security Officer of TM - the position that he has served since 2017.

Dato' Mohd Rais joined TM in 1988, and 2018 marks his 30th year with the Company. As TM's CTIO, he will be responsible for Network, IT and overall technical delivery, fulfilment and assurance for TM Group. In addition, Dato' Rais will strategise, formulate, direct and lead the implementation and operations of Information Security organisation. This covers Information Security Strategy, Architecture, Governance, Risk, Compliance, Development, Threat Intelligent and Operations in order to ensure the Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability of information assets protection for TM Group.
Commenting on the new appointment, Dato' Sri Mohammed Shazalli Ramly, Group Chief Executive Officer, TM said, "We are pleased to congratulate Dato' Mohd Rais on his promotion as TM's CTIO. As a TM home grown leader, he has the experience and expertise to elevate innovation at TM in the era of digital natives."
Dato' Rais has vast experience in Malaysia's telecommunications industry and he was also one of the pioneers in establishing Corporate Information Superhighway (COINS) team, providing the first TM's Frame Relay service back in 1997. In addition, Dato' Mohd Rais has been involved in and actively led numerous transformation projects in TM including both High Speed Broadband (HSBB) projects.
Meanwhile, Dato' Sri Shazalli also expressed his utmost gratitude to Dato' Rafaai Samsi for his dedication, contribution and loyalty to the TM Group during his tenure, "We would like to express our highest gratitude to Dato' Rafaai for all that he has done for TM. In the 40 years that he has served TM and the nation, he has engineered not just our technical transformation, but more importantly, our transformation from being a network-oriented company, to one that is service-oriented."
"As the former CTIO, Dato' Rafaai's behind-the-scenes contribution and efforts towards TM's success goes beyond Information Technology & Network Technology. The change that he pioneered at Customer Experience has been transformational. He has changed the mindset of Warga Keluarga TM to become even more customer-centric. This is certainly in line with our consistently above global telco average Customer Satisfaction Measure (TRI*M) index scores over the years - a testament to our concerted efforts in improving customer experience. This laid the foundation of TM as Malaysia's Convergence Champion and strengthens our brand promise of "Life Made Easier"," he added.
"We are grateful for not just his professional and technical contributions to the Group, but also his efforts in nurturing talent. Dato' Rafaai has been a mentor and coach to many people in TM that are now among our current crop of leaders. The management and Warga Keluarga TM are immensely grateful to Dato' Rafaai for his leadership and all his contributions to the Company. We would like to take this opportunity to wish him all the best for his future endeavours," Dato' Sri Shazalli concluded.
Profiles
Dato' Mohd Rais Azhar
Dato' Mohd Rais Azhar, aged 54, was appointed as Chief Technology & Innovation Officer (CTIO) and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) effective 14 February 2018. A Bachelor of Science (Computer Science) Degree graduate from Indiana State University, USA; Dato' Mohd Rais is also the Chief Information Security Officer of TM since 1st January 2017.
Prior to this, he was the Deputy Chief Technology & Innovation Officer of TM in 2017 and was appointed as Vice President of Network Architecture and Technology in 2010.
Dato' Rais is the Chairman of TM Technical Security Council and a board member of Telekom Research & Development Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of TM. In 2017, Dato Rais attended Leading Digital Business Transformation programme at IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland as part of his executive education.
Dato' Rafaai Samsi
Dato' Rafaai holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons.) in Electronic Engineering from Brighton University, United Kingdom and a Masters in Communications Management from the University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom. He started his career in telecommunications with the then Jabatan Telekom Malaysia in 1978. He was later appointed CEO of TM - NTT Communications Corporation's joint venture company in July 1997 before returning to TM in July 2001, where he was assigned as General Manager of a number of divisions including State Business Operations, Market Development and Domestic Carrier Business Division.
He was then appointed Vice President, Marketing and Sales for the Wholesale segment in October 2006 and subsequently promoted to Executive Vice President to lead the Wholesale Line of Business on 1 July 2008. Dato' Rafaai was assigned as Deputy CTIO to run the day-to-day operations and turn-around initiatives of the IT and Network Technology Division since January 2013. He was assigned as Head of Customer Experience Management and Transformation reporting directly to TM Group CEO on 1 July 2014 and at the same time, remained as the Deputy CTIO. He was also the Chairman of Service Management Council (SMC) responsible for TM's overall customer service management. Before his retirement from TM, Dato' Rafaai was TM's Chief Technology & Innovation Officer (CTIO) and Chief Customer Experience Officer since 18 February 2017.
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TM Melaka contributes pendarfluor lamps to those in need in Melaka
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TM announces departure of its chairman and the appointment of his successor
Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) today announced the departure of Tan Sri Dato' Seri Dr. Sulaiman Mahbob as Chairman of TM Board with effect on 30 November 2018 and the appointment of its new Chairman, Rosli Man effective 3 December 2018. On behalf of TM Group, the Board of Directors, expressed their highest gratitude to Tan Sri Dato' Seri Dr. Sulaiman for his leadership, dedication and contribution to the Group during his tenure. “The entire Board, management and Warga TM would like to record our heartfelt appreciation to Tan Sri Dato' Seri Dr. Sulaiman, an exemplary role model in civil service and a well-respected economist; who has brought his vast experience in the fields of government, economics and corporate to benefit the TM Group for the last 3 years. In his time at TM, his focus on corporate governance, integrity, corporate responsibility and sustainability; and ultimately on the role of TM as a partner in nation-building, has left a lasting mark on all of us at TM. This also extends to his contribution in education as the Chairman of Multimedia University (MMU).” Commenting on the new Chairman's appointment, the Board said, "We are happy to welcome Rosli Man as the new Chairman of TM Board. With his experience and knowledge, we look forward to his guidance and leadership as the Company, under the helm of Imri Mokhtar, the recently appointed Acting Group Chief Executive Officer and the team continues on executing its Performance Improvement Programme (PIP) 2018 and beyond. This is in keeping to our institution being the nation’s key enabler for the digital economy, by delivering on our strategies to Accelerate Convergence and Empower Digital." "We would like to wish Tan Sri Dato' Seri Dr. Sulaiman all the best in his future undertakings. On that note, we would also like to welcome Rosli Man as the new Chairman of TM Board," the Board concluded. PROFILE OF ROSLI MAN Rosli Man has more than 32 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, before he resigned as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) in 2008. Since then, he has immersed himself in consultation works before returning to TM as its Non-Independent Non-Executive Chairman on 3 December 2018. He first joined the telecommunication industry in Jabatan Telekom Malaysia in 1976 as Assistant Controller where he gained wide exposure in telecommunication services including the task to implement the country’s first mobile telecommunication service, i.e. ATUR 450. He then moved to the private sector by joining the Fleet group as its Group Manager, Technical Services in 1985. From 1988 to 1996, he was instrumental in setting up the first privately owned telecommunications company in Malaysia, the then Celcom (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (Celcom), catering to the cellular telecommunication business. He left Celcom as its President in 1996 to join Prismanet Sdn Bhd as Managing Director and held the position until November 1998. In July 2000, he joined Natrindo Telpon Sellular (NTS), the GSM 1800 cellular operator in East Java, Indonesia as Chief Operating Officer. He left NTS in January 2002.
TM and Huawei seal strategic partnership to further enhance malaysia’s broadband reach and digital economy
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