In a Facebook post, Tok Mat, as he is popularly known, said a previous statement that the financing of the 5G network rollout will not require a government guarantee was “odd”.

DNB had announced that the rollout would cost RM20 billion over 10 years, with the funding coming from bank loans and sukuk.

“DNB is owned by the government. Surely, there is a risk that the debt and operational costs will directly burden the government,” he said.

In November, finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said the cost of implementing the 5G network will be financed through a combination of deferred financing to vendors, trade financing and working capital, as well as sukuk programmes that would be issued in the national capital market.

He added it would not involve any government guarantee or funding, indirectly or with permission, off-balance sheet.

Zafrul said DNB would instead obtain financing through financial services such as banks and this will be repaid through sales proceeds generated from the wholesale sale of capacity.

Mohamad, meanwhile, repeated previous concerns over DNB’s monopoly as the sole 5G network provider, arguing that it would put the national rollout at risk of a “single point of failure”.

“This risk being taken by the government requires a concrete explanation. The trust deficit towards DNB and the Single Wholesale Network (SWN) seems to be growing clearer and the government must address this.”