The final report from the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) on the death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock is expected to be discussed by the cabinet "very soon", a minister said today.

NONEInformation, Communication and Culture Minister Rais Yatim (centre) said the report was not raised during the cabinet meeting earlier this morning, but pointed out that it is high on the government's agenda.

"We expect that it will be discussed very soon," he told journalists after chairing his ministry's post-cabinet meeting in Angkasapuri today.

There was much expectation from the media and public over the release of the RCI report today, especially after talk that it would be discussed by the cabinet and possibly released today.

Now, the soonest the report can be tabled for discussion and a decision by the cabinet will be at their next meeting this July 6 (Wednesday).

Astro cannot raise rates yet

Meanwhile, Rais repeated that Astro, the country's sole satellite television provider, cannot raise its rates as planned as it has not secured approval from the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

azlanHe said the issue was discussed by the cabinet, which decided to order the MCMC to take action against Astro.

"At this point they are not following the law. We urge the MCMC to take action and to tell Astro to not raise the tariff until a suitable time," he said, though he declined to elaborate on what sort of punishment will be meted out on the private broadcaster.

Astro recently announced that it would carry out a price adjustment on packages offered effective July 11, bringing either an increase of between RM1 and RM15 to monthly rates or a reduction of between RM4 and RM14.95 a month depending on subscribers' package selection.

The rate hike announcement sparked a minor public outcry, though some politicians took it upon themselves to debate the issue and slam Astro over its decision during the just concluded parliamentary meeting last month.

In a statement later this evening, an Astro spokesperson said that that the price revisions were conducted only after consultation with MCMC, in accordance with Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) 1998 and licence conditions.