Deputy minister slammed for ‘debunking’ call for aid

Deputy minister slammed for ‘debunking’ call for aid

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mastura Mohd Yazid has received flak after claiming that a plea for help on a recent viral radio interview was fake.

Among those who criticised the Kuala Kangsar MP was Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) leader Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, who said Mastura should not make people feel bad about asking for help.

“Hi YB, my suggestion. Come, help, and go. No need to do investigations as if the family is in the wrong.

“More people need help at the moment,” the Muar MP tweeted this morning.

Yesterday, Mastura released a statement, questioning the legitimacy of a radio interview clip in which a man claimed a family in Kuala Kangsar has been starving for two days.

The interview on Suria FM featured a man claiming to be an NGO representative, calling in to describe his experience distributing aid in Kuala Kangsar.

The man, who can be heard crying in the interview, claimed he saw a child lying on the floor when he approached the house and said the family had gone without food for two days.

In response, Mastura also released a video on her social media showing the woman allegedly involved in the interview coming forward to deny that her family was starving and said the events described were all untrue.

She added that her child was simply lying on the floor while conducting online learning.

Many social media users also slammed Mastura for revealing the identity of the family and criticised her priority to debunk the need for aid instead of helping.

Bersatu Women exco member Ainie Haziqah Shafii called the video revelation an unnecessary move.

“YB, if she’s having a hard time, just help. No need to deny anything.

“Just understand there are tens of thousands of people in each parliamentary seat, and so overlooking one or two cases is common.

“So, just help, no need to go around interviewing (the family),” she replied to the video on Twitter.

Netizens also flooded Mastura’s Twitter page, with one user comparing other MPs' responses to calls for aid, and another lambasted the deputy minister for showing the faces of the woman and the child involved.

User @xdidiandrax said: “A lot of people pleaded for help too in constituencies of Syed Saddiq and (Bukit Mertajam MP) Steven Sim.

“Did they go to these people’s houses to record a video and ask to clear their names? No. They collected money and went on to help, left, settled.”