ZAHIDI Zainul Abidin has put the blame on Kudat MP Abdul Rahim Bakri for the wrong information he received on YouTuber Veveonah Mosibin – on the Sabah student having to climb trees to get better internet reception in take an online university examination.

The deputy communications and multimedia minister said Rahim obtained the information from Veveonah’s lecturer, saying he had no reason to believe they were lying when he spoke about her in the Dewan Negara last week.

“The information came from the Kudat MP who is also the deputy finance minister.

“We were informed that Veveonah had no exam on that day. The information the MP got was from her lecturer who is a professor.

“So, on the issue, even if we wanted to verify, the question is why would the MP lie? We just believed in the information provided,” he said during a press conference at Parliament today.

Zahidi, who is the Padang Besar MP, has since apologised to Veveonah for wrongly accusing her of trying to get publicity by making a video of herself climbing up a tree to take an online examination due to poor internet connectivity.

He accused the 18-year-old of lying, calling her a YouTuber who “wants to make a name”. He also said there were no examinations.

“She is famous for a moment and she does it just for entertainment,” he told the upper house last week.

Veveonah’s video, titled 24 Hours on Tree | Challenge, showed the extent she had to go to just to complete her online examination, as there was no internet connectivity in her village.

The video has been viewed more than 732,000 times since it was posted on June 12, and has garnered the attention of international media and other prominent personalities.

Meanwhile, Zahidi said he will go to Veveonah’s university to iron things out.

“I will go to Universiti Malaysia Sabah to meet with the lecturer, staff and Veveonah for facts. We need to check two to three more times.

“If we find that the information was wrong, we apologise – the lecturer should not have given incorrect information.

“But if it is the opposite, then perhaps it is a misunderstanding… so the issue should not be politicised,” he said.

Meanwhile, Senator Alan Ling Sie Kiong wants to refer Zahidi to the senate rights and privileges committee for disciplinary action. He said Zahidi’s false answer had tarnished Veveonah’s name and added that the reputation of the house had also been tarnished with his statement which had misled the senate.