Pointing out that Zahidi had stooped low by targeting a student, the DAP secretary-general said Zahidi was not fit to be a deputy minister.
He also equated Zahidi’s ignorance of the actual situation in Sabah as disrespecting the plight of residents in the state.
“You can attack me (as a politician) but doing it to a university student is really unbecoming,” he told reporters after a get-together between DAP leaders and the people at Likas here today.
Zahidi had apologised for remarks he made in the Dewan Negara about Sabahan student Veveonah Mosibin, who had said in a video that went viral three months ago that she had to climb a tree to get an internet connection to enable her to sit for her online exam.
Zahidi, the Padang Besar MP, had earlier told the Dewan Negara that the girl did not sit for any exam at the prescribed time and that she only did the video to garner more views on YouTube.
In issuing an apology, he said he had received “inaccurate information” on the matter.
Later, Veveonah took to Facebook, saying she was “hurt and sad” by the entire affair. She said she had worked hard to prepare for the examination for many months and she did not expect her video to go viral.
Meanwhile, Lim questioned how successful the current government had been in implementing the National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan (NFCP) that was launched last year.
Besides the district of Pitas, where Veveonah is from, he said the NFCP is also focused on other areas such as Keningau, Papar, Tenom, Kunak, Semporna, Beluran, Tongod, Tuaran, Kudat and Kota Marudu.
According to a Bernama report, the Malaysian Multimedia and Communications Commission said the communication tower for Kampung Sapatalang, Veveonah’s village in Pitas, would be among the projects undertaken under the Jalinan Digital Negara (Jendela) plan to improve communications infrastructure in Sabah from 2020 to 2022.
Jendela is to replace the NFCP which was drafted before the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting surge and changes in internet usage.
On another development, Lim said DAP would continue to support Warisan president Shafie Apdal, who is also the caretaker chief minister, expressing confidence that he could clean Sabah of money politics.
He said the party was all for Shafie’s commitment in putting a halt to the culture of buying over elected representatives.
“Shafie will be the hope for the country in cleaning the politics in Malaysia — no more money politics and hopping (between) parties.
“If Sabah can rectify this, so can Malaysia … Sabah can lead the way,” he added.