The other two contenders are S Vell Paari, the son of former MIC president and works minister S Samy Vellu, and former Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chairman Al-Ishsal Ishak, according to The Edge.

Azman, the purported favourite, served at PLUS from January 2017 to December 2022. Prior to that, he was the managing director of Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn Bhd, and general manager of its retail business, overseeing Shell’s petroleum operations in Malaysia and Brunei.

Vell Paari was the secretary-general of MIC from 2018 to 2019, and its treasurer-general from 2016 to 2018. He was appointed as a senator in September 2020.

Meanwhile, Al-Ishsal was the chairman of MCMC from 2018 to 2020. He also served as group CEO of Pos Malaysia Bhd before joining MCMC.

Communications and digital minister Fahmi Fadzil announced on Aug 29 that the new DNB CEO was anticipated to be announced by Aug 30.

The finance ministry holds the ultimate authority in deciding who will replace former DNB CEO Ralph Marshall, whose contract was not renewed after it had expired on March 11. He served in that role for two years.

His successor will assume the leadership role amidst concerns that telecommunications companies (telcos) are not offering affordable rates for their 5G services.

DNB was specifically established to oversee the nationwide implementation of 5G infrastructure via a single-network model, which would allegedly reduce the telcos’ capital expenditures.

However, the government then decided to allow the establishment of a second network once DNB achieves 80% 5G coverage in densely populated areas.