Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi was rather upset that the media had failed to discern between his “subtle insults” and serious comments over the Penang free WiFi issue which recently caused a storm in Penang.

“A journalist should know when I am trying to insult subtly... a rookie (reporter) is always a rookie,” he said angrily and hurriedly, when contacted yesterday.

NONE Ooi, who is state telecommunications task force chairperson, refused to clarify the matter further when asked how the media had twisted his words as he claimed.

He slammed Malaysiakini for not being present at his March 19 press conference in Komtar when he updated the press about the state’s current status on free WiFi, an election promise when Pakatan took over in 2008.

“Why should I comment on this when you did not even bother to come to my press conference?... maybe you think that it is not important,” he snapped.

With those words, he said, “Bye, I am going to Parliament now”.

For the record, Malaysiakini was not invited for the event, although Ooi insisted that it was.

On March 19, Ooi was reported in the media as saying that three parliamentary constituencies held by non-Pakatan representatives will be excluded from the free WiFi initiative.

He had said the state resources were too limited to extend the service to Kepala Batas, Tasek Gelugor and Nibong Tebal.

Former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is the MP for Kepala Batas while the MP for Tasek Gelugor is Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nor Mohamed Yakcop.

Nibong Tebal MP Tan Tee Beng quit PKR last year and has joined Parti Kesejahteraan Insan Tanah Air (Kita).

If the local people in the constituencies want WiFi, then they should vote for Pakatan, Ooi was reported as saying.

His comments created havoc when BN leaders condemned Ooi for being “biased, dangerous and childish”.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has defended Ooi, saying that freee WiFi was for all, and condemned two Umno controlled media – Bernama and New Straits Time s - for twisting the words of his chief of staff.

Audio recording

Malaysiakini had obtained the audio recording of the press conference where Ooi made the controversial statement.

NONE Ooi was found to have indeed uttered those words when he explained the difficulties of implementing access points in Penang.

In his presentation, witnessed by a representative from Redtone, the company which provides the WiFi services, Ooi stressed that the initiative was to support “business activities, the young generation who are mobile and also tourism”.

“These are the three major areas we want to support... that is why all our access points are in public areas - not necessarily parks but concourses or shopping malls,” he had said.

“So we go by the constituencies, the parliamentary constituencies which are controlled by Pakatan Rakyat. It does not make much sense to invest money in Kepala Batas or Tasek Gelugor for now. If we have the resources we will go but now our resources are limited,” he explained.

“There are only 750 access points for 11 parliamentary constituencies... how do we spread it?

“First we based on our own internal survey to look at the highest concentration point of users;  and two - answer to requests - there are parties who requested to have Penang free WiFi at their premises.

“So we cater to these two - our internal survey and requests. That’s how we go about it."

Ooi admitted that it was tough to divide the available 750 access points by 11 parliamentary constituencies.

This is why most of the access points are in areas like Georgetown, Komtar, Burmah Road, the financial district in Beach Street and tourists areas like Little India and Macalister Road, he said.

‘Education sector would benefit’

In the audio clip, it was heard that Ooi had also spoken about how the education sector, like the well-established Han Chiang College, would benefit from the free WiFi initiative.

“We are happy to work together with (the) education (sector). This also answers (to allegations of) some of the NGOs that we cannot have WiFi at education centres,” he said.

The Penang Electromagnetic Fields Radiation Protection Alliance has been challenging the state to ensure that the initiative does not bring negative impact on the health of Penangites.

However, Ooi had also said that there would be no privileges for constituencies held by himself in Jelutong or Air Putih, where Lim is the assemblyperson.

“Because he is CM he gets more (access points)? No... We don’t want CM to be privileged,” he had said, adding that those areas would be provided with more coverage in Phase II of the project.

It is learnt that Phase II will be unveiled by Ooi on Saturday in Komtar.

Meanwhile, Ooi also touched on coverage in Permatang Pauh, which is currently held by PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.

“(The area covered) is basically Seberang Jaya... (Umno assemblymperson) Arif Shah benefits, although we do not want to go to BN areas, but that is (where the) highest concentration of people (are), in Bandar Sunway.

“We hope to have more access point in Permatang Pauh."

At the end of the media event, a reporter was heard asking Ooi to clarify his comment about WiFi coverage in non-Pakatan constituencies.

“It is not even considered for (the) second phase... no resources, if (they) want WiFi then vote PR (Pakatan Rakyat),” Ooi had replied.