Tawau MP Christina Liew has slammed Tawau DAP Youth chief Thien Ee Hang who questioned her commitment to her constituents, calling him an armchair critic who was indulging in 'ignorant and unwarranted’ attacks.
Liew (above) said she can accept constructive criticism but Thien's "attack" was uncalled for. This is because DAP and PKR are Sabah Pakatan Harapan component parties, of which she is the chairperson.
This came after Thien said Liew was in danger of losing her seat after he found out that Liew had only attended 24 out of 71 days of parliament sitting since July last year, based on details obtained from the MyMP website recently.
"Thien had the audacity to undermine a comrade and question my absence from some of the parliamentary sittings without bothering to do his 'homework' first.
"For him to belittle my work in the Tawau parliamentary constituency since being elected in May 2018, shows his ignorance of my presence on the ground.
"He conveniently chose to be oblivious to the concerns and issues I have raised in both the parliament and state legislative assembly as he probably has ulterior motives.
"It is totally misleading to claim that I have asked only two questions in the Dewan Rakyat," Liew said in a statement today.
Missed the tabling of Budget 2022
Liew explained that she had missed the tabling of Budget 2022 last October because she had a fall and fractured her left wrist while visiting her constituency earlier.
"I was admitted for surgery, followed by a period of recuperation in hospital."
Liew who is also Api-Api assemblyperson in the Sabah state assembly said that the parliamentary sitting in March this year had partially clashed with the 16th state legislative assembly sitting.
She said she had consistently pushed for the installation of a new mammogram screening machine for the Tawau Hospital since 2018, and it was eventually installed before the end of last year.
"I had also persisted in questioning the federal government on the delay in completing the Tawau Hospital Construction and Upgrade Project which was initially scheduled for completion in May 2020 under the 11th Malaysia Plan (2016-2020).
"In March this year, during the first meeting of the fifth session of the 14th Parliament, Health Minister YB Khairy Jamaluddin in a written reply to me said that the project was 69 percent completed as of Jan 31 this year compared with the schedule of 96 percent,” said Liew.
Brought up issues
Other issues that were brought to the attention of the federal government by Liew through parliamentary sittings since 2018 include the proposed devolution of powers to the state government, proposed expansion of the Tawau Airport, more fire and rescue stations for Tawau, proposed rehabilitation work on several primary schools and laptops for school children from the B40 category among others.
She also pointed out that she had set up the Tawau Parliamentary People's Service Centre in 2018 to serve the needs of her constituents.
"I have a team of officials on the ground to receive complaints from the people, and we duly consider their requests for assistance as far as possible," she said.
During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, Liew said that she and her people had gone on their rounds to urban and rural areas to hand out food baskets to needy families in Sri Tanjung, Apas and Balung state constituencies.
Thien in his statement also claimed that ever since Liew was elected in 2018, it has been rare to see her in Tawau personally, further triggering the frustration of the locals.
Chan plays peacemaker
Meanwhile, Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin urged all Harapan leaders to unite and focus on the upcoming general election.
"Thien's statement recently commenting on Tawau MP's attendance does not represent DAP's stance, it is only his personal comments.
"Pejuang leader Dr Mahathir Mohamad only attended 26 days out of 71 days sittings, whereas Warisan president Shafie Apdal only attended 20 days, this has not affected their leadership within their party," Chan said.
Chan, who is also a DAP central executive committee member said that Liew and her team have been performing well recently.
"They sent out aid to approximately 700 houses in Tawau after the recent fire incident. Throughout the pandemic, they've also distributed thousands of food aids, sanitisers and face masks," Chan pointed out.
However, Chan commended Thien for speaking up.
"Thien is young and fearless, he still has a lot to learn from the Tawau MP. But his courage to voice out constructive criticism is a good trait," said Chan. - Mkini
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