Annuar Musa refutes allegation of trying to fish for votes in Sarawak

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KUALA LUMPUR: Ketereh MP Tan Sri Annuar Musa formed an opposition MP in parliament after being accused of attempting to vote vote-fishing in Sarawak state polls.

“You referred to a statement I made recently in Sarawak as if I was trying to fish for votes by giving inaccurate facts. This is a serious allegation. As members of Parliament and administrators, we must be responsible when we campaign.

“Campaigning is one thing, but it must be done with decorum by presenting the exact facts,” the Minister of Communications and Multimedia said when concluding his ministerial responses on the 2022 budget during the committee phase at the Dewan Rakyat Wednesday December 8.

Annuar was responding to the assertions of Khoo Poay Tiong (PH-Kota Melaka) regarding RM4bil, which would be invested next year in the development of broadband services in rural areas, as mentioned by Annuar.

Khoo had referred to a press article quoting Annuar, which he said contradicted the RM700 million allocated in next year’s budget for this purpose.

“It seems what the minister said is fishing for votes and I’m afraid what the minister promised will end up turning into empty promises,” Khoo said.

Annuar clarified that the amount of RM4bil cited by him is a verified fact and is not an invented figure.

He said that in addition to the RM700 million allocated in the budget, there are also off-budget allocations, such as those under the National Digital Network Initiative (Jendela) and investments by telecom companies, which would be used to develop broadband connectivity in rural areas.

“My advice to YB (Khoo) is that you should be more thorough when giving a warning, otherwise it will reflect badly on you,” Annuar said.

Annuar said he would ask his officers to provide a breakdown of how the RM4bil will be used to develop broadband connectivity in the country.

On a separate issue, Annuar defended the appointment of Izzana Salleh as a non-executive director on the board of the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).

“She is a graduate of Imperial College of Business School and Harvard. She is more than qualified and should have the opportunity to represent the voices of young women,” he said.

He was responding to a question from Kasthuriraani Patto (PH-Batu Kawan) about Izzana’s appointment.

Kasthuriraani asked if his appointment was due to his family ties.

She also asked if Izzana would be able to fulfill her responsibilities as she also works for TalentCorp and the Social Security Organization. (Socso).

“Are there not more capable young women who could be appointed to this position?” ” she asked.

Annuar noted that Izzana would not participate in the day-to-day administration of the MDEC, but would simply attend meetings as a non-executive director.

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