We have had Streamyx broadband in Malaysia since the year 2000 and it was a really big deal back then. After all, I upgraded from a 56Kbps modem to the ultra-blazing fast 384Kbps always on Internet.

Fast forward to 2009, our minimum packages offered by Telekom Malaysia (oftentimes referred to as Terrorkom Malaysia) are now errr, still 384Kbps, while the fastest are 4.0Mbps. Wayyy to go, Malaysia.

Now, let’s look at our neighbours, Singapore. A quick check on Starhub shows they offer 100.0Mbps for a mere SGD$124.12 per month!

Streamyx packages - they suck

Starhub, oh so glorious!

With packages like those offered by Telekom Malaysia via their product Streamyx, it’s a wonder we have any e-commerce at all in our country. How do you expect progress for a nation like ours?

Why oh why do you think many companies choose to set up office in Singapore (paying more for rental and staff) and not our Multimedia Super Corridor? My belief is that the Internet hindrance is one of the major factors.

Couple that with our Science and Technology minister, Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili who in a recent interview, comes up with statements like “I think that the target speed of 20Mbps for the high speed broadband for the commercial sector and not less than 2Mbps for the general population especially for Sabah and Sarawak can be achieved within the next three years. Price is difficult to determine but the proposal of PIKOM i.e. RM30 per month is a reasonable target to achieve.”

We have to WAIT for 3 years before the general population gets 2Mbps? Are you kidding me? Are we aiming that low? What becomes of the quote by Les Brown which states: “Shoot for the moon, even if you miss it you will land among the stars.” A quick look at our neighbours shows once again, that they are aiming for 1Gbps for every home in Singapore. Read more, and weep here.

Furthermore, not only do we have SLOW broadband, we also have bad connectivity. The fact we have 384Kbps connections is made exponentially worse by the erratic behaviour to the Internet. Some days we can access interantional websites, and some days we can’t. We should set up a gambling ring just to bet on speed of connections, and whether we can get access or not. How’s this table for a start.

Take a gamble on Streamyx

Days like this, I have virtually no access to international sites, and you can witness the effect on Twitter, but of course, no one at Telekom Malaysia will be online to monitor it (not even their PR/ad agencies are). In the last hour, here’s a list of tweets with the hashtag #StreamyxSucks.

StreamyxSucks hashtag on Twitter

Come on, Streamyx and all those with fancy titles in front of your names. Do something for your country lah, Datuk-Datuk, Tan Sri-Tan Sri.