This post started with me venting my frustration. Since cable theft happening so frequently I like to keep this post as a log from now on. Let’s see what happen.
I am seriously furious at some very smart, daring and desperate thief. They cut off a few meters of the copper lines outside our house during the night. There’s no light along the road, this makes the stealing happen very often. One question remains unanswered, why the culprit can never be captured?
For two days now we are living without a telephone and Streamyx service. Overall we have at least a few days of service interruption per month.
Normally when there is a service interruption I would call Telekom and they fix it in a day or two. This time around I didn’t call and I’m surprised no one come and fix. Am I the only person using the cable in this Kampung?
#Update Aug 3, 2013
- Finally Telekom Malaysia’s contractor fixing the cable. It seems to be consistent, to repair a cable they need minimum two days before a repair work can be proceeded.
Update 6 Aug 2013 – stolen again
- Repaired today 8 Aug 2013.
- If this act continues, Telekom Malaysia will likely not fixing the cable. (I hope not)
Update 20 – 21 Aug 2013 – No Dialing tone
- The internet and telephone line was out for two days and things get back to normal on 22nd Aug 2013. I suspect the cable outside our housing area was stolen again.
Update 23 Nov – 6 Dec 2013 – Cable has been stolen and TM have since replaced the new cable but the phone remains out of service
- 23 Nov — Cable got stolen around midnight during heavy rainfall.
- 28 Nov — Cable replaced by TM contractor.
- 02 Dec — Call TM log report, line still out of service.
- 04 Dec — call TM again, line remain out of service.
- 05 Dec — TM contractor said already fix the issue. Got home in the evening and line still remain out of service.
- 06 Dec — TM Contractor said will go to the house and check.
- 07 Dec — Line back to normal
Update 21 Dec 2013 – The cable was cut in between two poles around 1am – 3am. Cable left dangling and unattended suggesting the theft didn’t manage to steal the cable and left the scene in a hurry.
- 21 Dec — 7.01AM Reported the incident to TM.
- 22 Dec — TM contractor came in the morning. Rearrange all the wires and new telephone cable poles were laid.
- 23 – 24 Dec — Don’t seem to have any work done on reconnecting the cable.
- 25 Dec — Christmas Day Nothing done so far.
- 26 Dec — Nothing really happens. No cable reconnection at work.
Have you had this experience before? How long did the Telco fix the problem? Did you get a rebate for your internet bill due to this type of service interruption? Write your comment down below 🙂
25 responses to “Telekom Malaysia Cable Theft (Jalan Jambori)”
They stole the big cable that was just installed yesterday near the Jambori junction AGAIN. I can pretty much guess which cables they’re going to steal next at this point. We should just ask the local authorities to invest in a CCTV system (or if they can’t be bothered we can just gather the funds ourselves) and place it near the Jambori junction and else where in Jalan Stakan. You’ll catch glimpse of the crooks sooner than later. They’re organized, but not sophisticated. They always steal at the SAME LOCATIONS at around the SAME TIME. I’m surprised the police hasn’t figured them out yet (or maybe they just don’t care?). I feel like we’re dealing with some middle school mentality crooks. And there’s a good chance that some of them live in the Stakan/Jambori area, how else could they have known about the new cable the day it’s installed?
Looks like TM have given up or something. They didn’t do anything so far. The cable to my house, they left it there for the pass 2 weeks already; probably due to the main cable from outside was stolen and there’s no way for them to connect it back without first having the main connected back.
I figure we should use some good tele lens and a DSLR to capture these thugs from your house windows.
The cable they stole outside left me without internet for more than a week. I couldn’t wait and subscribed to Maxis Home Broadband during that period (and of course Telekom decided to fix the cable a day later). Data cap aside, Maxis Broadband is actually pretty good.
I tried taking photos of those crooks once, but the camera on my old phone was pretty useless without sufficient light. Next time I see them I’ll just call the cops directly, and I advise everybody else to do the same.
One thing I noticed recently is that there are now people patrolling the streets almost every night. Hopefully that will reduce the cable theft around this area.
I was trying to email you, it seems your email doesn’t work.
Anyway, I have been very busy and I am totally cut off from Internet at night since the cable theft.
I thought everything was fixed and I call TM, apparently the underground cable was pull out by those crooks.
Hopeless.
Not sure why my email is not working for you @@
Anyway, Telekom’s slow to fix the cables in Jamboree because there are fewer households there and a lot of them discontinued their telephone service because of the frequent cable theft. You probably need to give Telekom more pressure for them to act.
If you need home broadband and telephone right now I recommend getting Maxis Wireless Internet, the signal in this area is fairly good and I frequently get 2-5Mbps speeds. The setup is pretty quick too, you can use the service on the day you sign up. More information here: https://www.maxis.com.my/en/personal/internet/wireless-internet.html?icid=maxistile:internet:wirelessinternet
There are now a lot of people patrolling (in cars, bikes, bicycles, and even some on foot) Jalan Stakan almost every night from 12 AM onwards. I doubt those thieves will be back any time soon. If you’re busy then don’t worry about it, you shouldn’t let this distract you from your daily life, it’s just not worth our time and energy to fuss over those cable thieves any further.
Just a few days ago I stopped those crooks (well, by “stop” I mean I looked at them the wrong way) from stealing the exposed section of a newly installed underground cable near the bridge in Jalan Stakan. They ran off after seeing me looking at them, but turned back several minutes later, perhaps to save face, hurled rocks at my second floor kitchen windows, breaking two of my windows and almost injuring me in the process, telling me to “jaga”. They’ve gone from being a nuisance to being a threat to the lives of local residents. These crooks need to be nabbed ASAP.
If you see them or even suspect that a nearby cable has just been cut, please call the local police immediately at 082-240800 (or their HQ at 082-274222). Hint: If your internet and telephone suddenly goes down at 3.30AM in the morning, you know what’s going on. Do not wait. Inform the police immediately. They’ll thank you for it.
Here’s what I’ve observed about these crooks (based on what I’ve seen and some assumptions):
They operate between 1-4AM. There are 3-4 bikes and probably two cars involved. They likely got their equipment from a worn white subcompact car that I saw twice during these incidents. They drag the cables they stole from Jalan Stakan into Jalan Jambori with their bikes, two persons on each bike, one driving the bike and the other dragging the cable, and then load it up on a white van at a rendezvous in Jalan Jambori. The white van then heads out of Jamboree into Jalan Stakan in the direction of pasar Batu 7. The bikers disperse. It’s hard to tell where they’re going because I feel like they’re trying to confuse me as they probably know I’m looking at them from my balcony. But my gut tells me that at least one of them lives in Jalan Jambori. It’s a hunch, because some of those bikers move back and forth, pretending to be going out of Stakan and then coming back 20 something minutes later and head to the direction of Samarahan instead. There was one that went inside Jalan Jambori again and didn’t come out for a long time. Probably just went home. I saw the same routine repeated twice.
On Monday morning they actually tried to steal the newly installed telephone cable right near my balcony. They appear to be trying to pull the cable down with some sort of hook, probably to cut it when it’s within reach. I was furious, because Telekom had just fixed the cables they stole last time a week ago. I use the internet for work, and it’s extremely hard on me when my internet goes down for days or even weeks because of these crooks. I turned on my kitchen lights and let them know that I’m onto them by staring at them from my balcony. They got the message and ran, only to come back a few minutes later to throw rocks at my house and threaten me. I called the cops after that, but they were long gone when the cops arrived.
On Thursday morning those crooks cut the smaller telephone cables near my house sometime after I went to bed, making a mess of the Jambori t-junction, maybe to send a message to the local residents that they’re not afraid and will keep stealing as they please. The cables they messed up got caught on a garbage truck and the truck accidentally pulled the whole telephone pole down on the road. That could have come down on a bike or car and injured or even killed somebody. This isn’t just about the inconvenience of not having telephone and internet anymore, it’s about the local residents’ security. If we let those crooks roam free in our streets like they own the place, sooner or later they’re going to hurt somebody physically. These crooks are organized and crafty, and apparently have no conscience, it’s only a matter of time before they graduate from stealing telephone cables to robbing people’s homes. Mark my words these crooks will not stop stealing even if telephone cables command no price. If they had a conscience they’d have stopped stealing the first time they saw me see them dragging those cables down the street.
I work very late into the night, and I happen to live in a place with a good view of the streets, so I get to see a lot of shit going on late at night. I notice a sharp increase of shady types roaming the streets at night compared to just a couple of years ago. It’s because the police barely patrol this area at all. If you guys are going to ask DAP or any politician for anything, ask them to request regular police patrols around Jalan Stakan between 1-4AM, at least twice a week. That will solve 90% of the problem with thieves and thugs we’re having.
That said, local residents should also help the police nab these crooks. If nobody does anything these crooks will never be caught. We can’t just wish these bad people away. Everybody has to do their part to keep this neighborhood safe.
I thank you for your long comment. You probably are the only person describe the whole thing in details. Thank you.
From your comment, I realize you are as mad as I am. I have had no internet access since Jul and I was happy that TM started laying the cable on the ground. Looks like it didn’t help and they actually pull the cable out from the ground? This thugs really has no fear. The cable at the junction was cut down last week and since then no work has been continued by TM. I saw the telephone pole on the ground, I thought TM contractor started doing something, but looks like it was an accident that got the whole telephone pole on the ground.
TM tried to fix the problem, but it looks like they have no match for this thug.
This whole thing is a burden to everyone. Risky and dangerous for people around this area; like your good self, it’s pretty dangerous to tackle them alone.
Here’s my crazy idea: The only thing I can think of is to scare the hell out of them by grouping. Like Rukun Tertangga, if we notice theft activity, we all get informed and drive out and meet them head on.
We put up a big sign board, telephone number to call for cable theft reporting to remind these thugs we are watching them.
I think we all need to group and perhaps discuss what we can do to help.
I know this may sound obvious, but calling the police is the single best thing to do.
As much as I’d like to beat the crap out of those thugs (believe me I really, really want to) with some buddies, I know it’s too dangerous for civilians to take on a group of thugs on their own. These thugs are organized and dangerous, so I wouldn’t recommend confronting them directly. We’re not trained for this and we have daily obligations and can’t afford to get ourselves injured (which is worst than not having internet). The best course of action is to call the police immediately when you notice their activity. The cops who came by my house were very eager to help. The only problem was that I didn’t call them soon enough.
And to elaborate on Monday morning’s incident, they weren’t trying to steal the cable beneath ground, they were trying to steal the portion of the cable above ground. There are still sections of the underground cable hanging on the telephone poles, for example the section of the cable crossing the river and above the bridge.
What I should have done differently was to call the police sooner without alerting those crooks, that way the police could have caught them while they were still stealing the cable, albeit at the expense of a few days/weeks/months without internet. I made the mistake of trying to scare them off by myself because I was angry and wasn’t thinking straight.
If you want to talk directly feel free to call me up or just visit my house (I think I see my house in your picture!). You can email me at sol [at] live [dot] com [dot] my for contact details.
Such a hectic week for me! No time to reply your message 🙂
Anyway, the cable seem to be stolen again on Saturday? Sucks! I hope they didn’t do it to show you who’s the boss.
This thugs need to be caught ASAP. Also the police need to get to the root of this matter; who master mind this whole operation? where they sell the cable?
I remember reading in the news paper, police have caught the shop that buying stolen cable and that did stop the cable theft for good three month or so. Then the operation seem to restarted in June.
Some little effort I’m pushing at Dap. And also through talikhidmat. 082555999 where this report will be on State Secretary table if cannot be solve in 48 hours.
Tonight I will stay to monitor my link,perhaps whole this ongoing month. Lolss
I need Internet!!
and this happen again.
date between 29 may 14 to 8 june 2014.
i raise this issues to DAP since sentosa under DAP. I hope pal will do the same DAP Kuching 082-335531
There has been at least 3 other incident prior to this weeks long service interruption. Finally Telekom have it fixed today.
DAP? They probably received lot of complain already and time will see if they have the ability to act on it.
New template? Why so yellow? Haha! LOL @ u being the only person using the cable in this kampung hahaha!!
Color was chosen by a friend. I don’t think this is a websafe color, I’m not sure how it turn out for other screen. It may too yellow and may washout. On my screen it is washout so it not really an issue for me. In web design stand point, I am toast hahaha. I think washout yellow or blue is okay.
Was it painful for your eyes? let me know.
Good news is the cable is back! 🙂
I think I’m the only one using the cable for internet, i’m not joking. There’s more elderly then young people. Those that using internet mostly using Maxis broadband or on smartphone.
#fafae0 it is light apricot on my laptop screen… and yes its looks more sand yellow on my tablet but i think it is better than cruel snow white 🙂
Also, let me know how do you like the design. tell me about your experience (in details – if you will hahaha)
mm.. this is a fat cable, maybe as much copper as in elevator cables, which are often cut and stolen here (copper metal scrap)
Sad.
I’m not sure how much does the thing fetch. It must be very expensive.
definitely a cable is much more expensive than the thiefs will get for a weight of metal scrap.
They are fixing the cable as we speak 🙂 happy again hahaha
and pray that those cables-snatchers wont return 🙂
Hard to say. This is already the second time.
now third.. after post update..
this seem to become a big problem.. and for telco too
I have the reason to believe it will happen again. Will see. I don’t think after 3rd times in two month the telco will be able to keep pump in the cost for replacement.
I wonder what they can do to stop/prevent repeteadly cable theft