.jpg "Former finance minister Lim Guan Eng speaks to reporters at the Kuala Lumpur High Court September 9, 2020. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Yusof Mat Isa")
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 — Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin today took a jibe at DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, challenging the latter to resign from his party post and MP seat owing to his corruption charges.
This was after Lim called on the Padang Besar MP to immediately resign from his post after giving inaccurate information twice in Parliament, first over 18-year-old Sabahan student Veveonah Mosibin and later on Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia’s (KKMM) online purchase surcharge.
“Resign from your party as the secretary-general, step down from your parliamentarian role, and I will resign as deputy minister.
“Don’t act smart and call others out, while you are not right yourself.
“Now, Lim Guan Eng has been charged for corruption, so he too must resign. Our practice previously has always been one where those who are charged in court for corruption must resign. So he has to resign if he truly wants to uphold integrity,” Zahidi told Malay Mail.
Earlier today, Lim said that while the bullying of Veveonah has not been resolved, Zahidi then went on to announce KKMM’s intention to charge a service fee of 20 cents for purchases under RM1,000 on e-commerce platforms and an additional 20 cents for every subsequent RM1,000, with his statement refuted by the ministry itself, which denied that discussions on the surcharge took place after negative response from the public.
“As Zahidi has lost public credibility, it is necessary for someone more competent and capable to replace him as deputy minister,” Lim said today.
Yesterday, Zahidi expressed his desire to meet with Veveonah after drawing public ire for alleging the Sabah student had staged a scene of her taking exams on a tree.
He then accused DAP of politicising the issue to allegedly divert public attention from the graft charges against Lim.
Zahidi has come under fire for suggesting Veveonah was an attention seeker and had faked having to take an online examination atop a tree in rural Sabah due to poor internet connectivity, an allegation he made in the senate last week.
The Umno MP has since apologised and claimed to have received the information from Kudat MP Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri, a Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) leader and the deputy finance minister.
Zahidi also defended himself against allegations of cyberbullying.
