Company insists permission granted for use of DPM's speech text

A communications company has claimed it had received the green light to use the deputy prime minister's speech text during the launch of its internet broadband project on Tuesday.

Xiddig Cellular Communications Sdn Bhd chairperson Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahim reportedly said that the permission was obtained from Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail's political secretary, according to Free Malaysia Today.

"We received a formal letter from the deputy prime minister’s office confirming her (Wan Azizah’s) attendance at the event," Abdul Rashid told the portal.

He added that Xiddig was however informed the night before the event that the deputy prime minister could not make it.

The portal had contacted Abdul Rashid, who is the brother of former Tabung Haji chairperson Abdul Azeez, after Wan Azizah's office issued a statement claiming that her name had been misused for a speech at the launch of the Enhanced Malaysia International Internet Gateway (EM-IIG) High-Speed Broadband project.

"The text read out at the launch of the project was not approved by the deputy prime minister or her office.

"The deputy prime minister also did not assign anyone to read her speech out for her at the event," read the statement.

Following this, Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Rashid Hasnon, who delivered the speech, had also issued a denial that he was representing the deputy premier.

Alledging that he had not been scheduled to deliver any speech at the event but was instead given the text by the organiser at the eleventh hour, Rashid said he was also mulling legal action to clear his name. - Mkini