Fahmi said Putrajaya would respect “the sanctity of the contract” given to Swedish telecommunications giant, Ericsson, as the provider for Malaysia’s 5G network deployment nationwide.

“Give us space to discuss. We will not entertain, be swayed or be prejudiced. If it is signed, we will respect it.

“My team and I will not entertain any lobbying efforts made using the media – be it local or overseas – nor will we be influenced in terms of discussion, research or evaluation,” said Fahmi in his winding-up speech in the Dewan Rakyat.

He made the statement in response to a query by Chong Zhemin (PH–Kampar) over a report by Financial Times, titled “Huawei fights for a role as Malaysia reviews 5G tender”.

According to the report, Huawei is among several others vying for the 5G tender award.

Chong wanted Fahmi to explain the implications on the country’s financial status should the tender – to design and build the national 5G network – be given to Huawei instead.

Last December, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim ordered a review of the RM11 billion 5G network contract awarded by Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) – a special purpose vehicle (SPV) created under the finance ministry – to Ericsson under the previous administration.

He said this was necessary to ensure that relevant parties had followed strict procedures.

In January, Bloomberg reported Fahmi as saying that the government was expected to finalise the review by the first quarter of this year.

Ericsson is currently the sole vendor to roll out the country’s 5G network.