.jpg "Tan Sri Rais Yatim delivers his maiden speech as Dewan Negara Speaker at Parliament, Kuala Lumpur on September 2, 2020. u00e2u20acu2022 Picture by Shafwan Zaidon")
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 — Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin has been summoned by Dewan Negara President Tan Sri Rais Yatim to explain his statement on Sabah undergraduate Veveonah Mosibin to the Upper House and issue an apology.
Rais said if Zahidi refuses to do so, the latter could be referred to the Rights and Privileges Committee.
“After scrutinising the situation, we have to first agree that he comes to this House to provide an explanation and apologise to the relevant party,” Rais was quoted as saying by Malaysian Insight.
The motion to refer the deputy minister to the committee was tabled by Senator Alan Ling Sie Kiong from DAP earlier. Zahidi was not present at the Dewan Negara today.
Ling claimed Zahidi had misled the Senate with his false statement.
“To defend the image and dignity of the Senate, we would like to refer him to the Rights and Privileges Committee to be investigated so that this can serve as a lesson,” Ling was quoted as saying.
Zahidi has come under fire for suggesting that Veveonah was an attention seeker and had faked taking an online examination atop a tree in rural Sabah due to poor internet connectivity, an allegation he made in the senate last week.
The Padang Besar MP from Umno has since apologised and claimed to have received the information from Kudat MP Abdul Rahim Bakri, a Bersatu leader and the deputy finance minister.
He accused DAP of politicising the issue to allegedly divert public attention from its secretary-general Lim Guan Eng’s graft charges.
Zahidi also said he has publicly stated his desire to meet Veveonah so he could listen to her grievances personally.
