Bersatu lawmaker does his homework, vouches for Veveonah

Sabah Bersatu deputy chief Masidi Manjun has called Veveonah Mosibin an "exemplary" student after finding out more about her from Universiti Malaysia Sabah.

Taking to Twitter, Masidi (above), who is the Karanaan state assemblyperson, said he spoke to both the university's deputy vice-chancellor and Preparatory Centre for Science and Technology.

"I would like to confirm that Veveonah sat for her final semester exams online from June 6 until June 12," said Masidi.

He also found out that Veveonah has been offered a marine science degree course at the same university.

Masidi's comments were a far cry from fellow Sabah Bersatu politician and Kudat MP Abdul Rahim Bakri, who alleged that Veveonah did not sit for her university exams on a tree because of poor internet connectivity.

Abdul Rahim eventually deleted his Facebook post after heavy criticism.

Veveonah shot to fame after she uploaded a video on the challenges caused by poor internet connectivity in her village whereby she had to scale a tree for reliable internet connection.

Following this, Communications and Multimedia deputy minister Zahidi Zainul Abidin told Parliament that Veveonah was an attention seeker and liar.

He eventually withdrew his statement and apologised, but not before passing the buck to Abdul Rahim for passing him the wrong information.

Some of Veveonah's classmates had come forward to affirm that they did in fact sit for exams online on the dates mentioned by Veveonah.

Meanwhile, Kuala Terengganu MP Amzad Hashim has joined many others in stating that Veveonah's episode was not about whether she sat for exams or not.

"The main issue is what steps are we going to take to improve internet coverage," the PAS lawmaker wrote on Twitter.

Similarly, BN secretary-general and Ketereh MP Annuar Musa wrote that Malaysia must "accept the reality" that people in rural Sabah and Sarawak need better infrastructure and facilities.

"Work on it and stop being in denial," he said.

Meanwhile, Bersatu Youth deputy chief Ceasar Mandela Malakun said the youth wing was very inspired by Veveonah and will invite her to the party's headquarters for a discussion.

"Veveonah's grit should be appreciated and she should be an example for all students in Malaysia," he said in a statement. - Mkini