For the sake of the Veveonahs of Sabah, Sarawak and Malaysia to ensure that the government is serious about closing the digital divide in Malaysia, the Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Zahidi Zainul Abidin must be referred to the Senate Committee of Privileges to determine how he could be so ignorant and incompetent as to call Veveonah Mosibin of Pitas a liar in the Senate for her YouTube of her spending a night on a treetop to get Internet connection for her examination.
Zahidi’s excuse that he had received “inaccurate information” to tell such a lie in the Senate is a most lame one.
The Senate Committee of Privileges should establish whether Zahidi was telling the truth in claiming that he had received “inaccurate information” or this is Zahidi’s second lie.
If Zahidi was telling the truth, then the officer responsible for telling Zahidi the “inaccurate information” should be identified and suitably punished.
If not, Zahidi should be doubly punished for his two lies.
Zahidi had committed an “uncorrectable” blunder as “Vevonah on a tree-top to sit for an exam” YouTube went as far back as June 12 and it was quite an online sensation. So far, it has been viewed over 750,000 times.
As a result, she was offered a scholarship by the Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and is now pursuing her foundation programme with UMS.
In June itself, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission followed up and pledged to improve internet connection in the area by having a telecommunications tower by mid of next year.
The wife of Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sabah Toh Puan Norlidah Jasni, who is also the adviser of Yayasan Nur Jauhar also presented donations to Veveonah at the state palace.
Even the Prime Minister himself is aware of Veveonah’s tree-top feat.
How can a Deputy Minister for Communications and Multimedia be so grossly ignorant about a matter completely within its jurisdiction?
In the middle of last month, Muhyiddin referred to the Veveonah incident in a town hall meeting with civil servants in Johore when he said that global technology giants such as Microsoft, Amazon and Google are keen to help develop Malaysia into a regional hub for information technology although the country was faced with the main issue of lack of access of the Internet.
I understand that Warisan Members of Parliament referred to Vevonah’s YouTube of “24 hours on tree” to get better Internet connection to sit for an examination in the Dewan Rakyat, to highlight the problem of digital divide in Sabah – well before the matter was raised by Senator Datuk Donald Peter Mojuntin last Thursday.
Did Zahidi check with MCMC?
Unless there is a satisfactory explanation than just being given “inaccurate information”, Zahidi is clearly unfit to be Deputy Minister for Communications and Multimedia after such a cock-up in Parliament!
(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2020)