Speaking to reporters after the GSMA Mobile 360 launch ceremony here today, he said the government would not hand out contracts to anyone.

“Let me make it very clear – the National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan (NFCP) is not a project. It is a plan that indicates what the government wants to do over a period of five years.”

He said neither the government nor the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) would award contracts to anyone.

“The telcos will decide who they want to appoint in respect to whatever it is they want to carry out under NFCP,” he added.

“So it’s not a case where RM21 billion is given to one company that is Opcom. I think whoever says that has misunderstood.”

MCMC recently rubbished such talk as well, saying no one company providing a specific technology can be the biggest benefactor of NFCP.

“Therefore, it is not right to name Opcom as the biggest benefactor from the NFCP,” it said in a statement.

This followed a 16% spike in Opcom’s share prices three weeks ago, which raised rumours that the company would benefit the most from NFCP.

The company’s major shareholder is Mukhriz Mahathir, the son of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.