Members of the National Professors Council (NPC) are holding on to hope that the government would reconsider its decision to disband their operations.

Former council member Prof Mohamed Mustafa Ishak told reporters that the issue was raised during their meeting with the Council of Eminent Persons at Ilham Tower in Kuala Lumpur this morning.

"We proposed for the NPC to be continued. That was our submission.

"The council will hopefully deliberate (on the matter)," said the Universiti Utara Malaysia vice-chancellor who previously headed NPC's politics, security and international affairs cluster.

Quizzed on whether their submission was made to reinstate NPC in its original form, Mustafa said: "We are asking the government to allow us to continue our programmes but with new approaches."

He, however, declined to reveal further details beyond stating that they would proceed to make another formal submission at a later date.

"We will submit...We have not (submitted). Just now we only provided some explanations about this and that," he said before rushing off.

NPC chief executive officer Raduan Che Rose last month said although the council respected the government's decision, they hoped that it could be reviewed as thousands of professors would be affected by the council's dissolution.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had on May 23, after chairing the first cabinet meeting, by the new Pakatan Harapan government, announced that the NPC would be dissolved.

Mahathir said the NPC was set up with the intention of playing an advisory role but had become a political entity to prop up the previous BN government.