The communications minister also said the government had no hand in the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) choosing the mobile network operator to roll out the second network.

He reiterated that an independent technical team under the MCMC vetted the bidders and unanimously chose U Mobile.

“The executive was not involved. There was no intervention on our part,” he told a press conference here.

He added that he was willing to share additional information on the decision with MPs, though some details could not be made public yet. Fahmi said the MCMC will first hold discussions with U Mobile on its plans and next steps.

“So we will wait for that meeting to take place first. The MCMC will get U Mobile’s feedback. After that, we may have further information (to share with the public),” said the minister.

He reiterated that the second 5G network was not a government contract nor a licence.

Separately, Fahmi said the Cabinet has yet to discuss calls for the National Professors Council (MPN) to be reviewed or even dissolved.

Previously, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had only raised the topic of the management of the council, which falls under the Prime Minister’s Department, he said.

“There is no decision yet. It was not even raised at the recent (Cabinet) meetings,” he added.

Yesterday, the Public Accounts Committee urged the government to review whether MPN was still relevant as a key driver of academic expertise in Malaysia. It also called for the council to be placed under the higher education ministry if it was to be retained.

The Auditor-General’s Report 2/2024 had flagged the misuse of RM373,516 in MPN funds, including RM207,000 in unapproved allowances.