Social media users have criticised Deputy Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Bakri after he maintained Veveonah Mosibin had lied about climbing a tree to obtain Internet connection for an online examination.
Earlier today, Communications and Multimedia Deputy Minister Zahidi Zainul Abidin passed the buck to him after coming under fire for previously accusing the student of lying to garner publicity.
Zahidi apologised after Vevenoah set the record straight, and has since blamed the Kudat MP for handing him incorrect information.
In a Facebook post this evening, Abdul Rahim (above) defended the information.
He shared a report from a local village chief alleging Veveonah did not live in a rural Pitas village as she claimed. An unnamed Universiti Malaysia Sabah “dean” further disputed the existence of any online examinations.
The Bersatu politician thus questioned the student’s motives for making a now-viral video about her experience.
“From my findings, I suspect that there might be a certain motive behind the broadcasting of the video that was uploaded on YouTube and watched by the whole world,” he said in his post.
Abdul Rahim later deleted his Facebook post.
Malaysiakini has contacted Veveonah for comment.
Inappropriate to target student
Many comments under Abdul Rahim’s post disapproved of his attempt to discredit Veveonah.
Several expressed sympathy for her, saying the deputy finance minister ought to focus on improving Internet connectivity in his constituency rather than use his platform to target the 18-year-old.
Facebook user Mohd Asmawi Zahari MdZa pointed out that Veveonah’s video had captured the attention of the authorities and led to a new telecommunications tower being built in the village.
“When the ministers continue to criticise the student, I believe this will cause psychological effects on her.
“I think it is inappropriate for this to be exaggerated and investigated to the point of going viral here. If our leaders act like this, who will defend the student? The student’s actions were not a criminal offence,” he added.
Another user known as Avtar Porr Singh also disagreed with the personal attack.
“Instead of apologising and making up for the stupidity of attacking an innocent girl, you and your team want to make things worse. I give up. Totally unprofessional and very unethical. You should be ashamed of yourself,” he said.
A netizen going by the name Jepnory Jepanang said the issue at hand was poor Internet infrastructure in rural Sabah.
“That’s not the point though! Veveonah’s video should be an eye-opening [sic] for the government to reinspect the current network coverage in Sabah especially at rural places,” he commented.
Veveonah confirms exam
Veveonah previously told Malaysiakini that she had indeed taken an examination when she filmed herself on a tree on June 12.
The Sains Asasi (Foundation in Science) student furnished her June 9 to 12 examination timetable as proof.
One of her batchmates, who only wanted to be known as JV, provided Malaysiakini with the exact same timetable.
“Yes, the examination was conducted fully online. The platform where the exam questions were asked is Google Form.
“The examinations were conducted simultaneously for all students in the same batch,” the student said.
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