KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 — The Malaysian Senators’ Council yesterday urged for Deputy Minister of Communications and Multimedia Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin to be referred to the Dewan Negara Rights and Freedom Committee.
This is to enable an investigation to be carried out over his action in giving an allegedly false answer during the Dewan Negara sitting last Thursday in regard to the benefits of the government’s programmes to close the digital gap between Sabah and other states.
“He failed to focus on giving the right answer to the question.
“Instead, he had focused on the example given by Senator Datuk Donald Peter Mojuntin about the predicament faced by a student in rural Sabah, Veveonah Mosibin, in getting internet access during the movement control order (MCO) period.
“Zahidi had falsely accused Veveonah of lying when she said she had to climb a tree and had stayed on top of it for 24 hours to get a better internet connection for her online exams,” the council’s honorary secretary Raj Munni Sabu said in a statement yesterday.
Raj Munni said although Zahidi had apologised through his Facebook posting, the matter had brought about bad and negative impact to the student and her family as they had also become victims of cyberbullies following the false statement.
As such, the deputy minister must immediately be referred to the Dewan Negara Rights and Freedom Committee to enable it to decide on Zahidi’s claim that his response was based on inaccurate information, Raj Munni added.
— Bernama
