KOTA KINABALU – PKR’s Tawau MP Datuk Christina Liew today hit back at accusations by an opposition colleague of her alleged absenteeism from her duties as an elected representative, saying that such claims are unfounded and ill-intentioned.
Yesterday, Tawau DAP Youth chief Thine Ee Hang said Liew had been absent from her constituency, and was missing numerous times during Dewan Rakyat meetings, raising concerns of eroded public confidence in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition come the next elections.
Liew, who is the Sabah PKR chief and Api-Api assemblyman, said she welcomed constructive criticism, but cannot accept her hard work being questioned by a colleague who may be raising such claims due to “ulterior motives”.
“Thine had the audacity to undermine a PH comrade and question my absence from some of the parliamentary sittings without bothering to do his homework first,” Liew said in a statement.
Liew, who also leads Sabah PH, said her absence from Parliament when Budget 2022 was tabled last October was because she was awaiting surgery for a broken wrist caused by a fall, while her non-attendance in March was because she had to attend the Sabah assembly meeting.
However, she said she has repeatedly pushed in Parliament for equipment upgrades including a new mammogram machine for Tawau Hospital, and also for RM300 million worth of flood mitigation projects for the constituency promised by the federal government.
On the ground, Liew said her Tawau Parliamentary People’s Service Centre was set up in 2018 to serve the needs of her constituents, including handing out food baskets to those struggling during the Covid-19 movement curbs and assisting the victims of a fire in Kg Kurnia last month.
“Where was armchair critic Thine then? I didn’t see his face. For the benefit of the people, we set up a temporary clinic at the site in collaboration with a private clinic. We also put up four canopies to serve as a food aid distribution centre,” she said. – The Vibes, April 5, 2022
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