Rashid admits to attending durian feast recently, not last year
Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Rashid Hasnon has admitted to attending a durian feast recently, and not last year as he previously claimed.
He also apologised for his mistakes and said he would cooperate with the police who are investigating the alleged standard operating procedure (SOP) violation...
Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Rashid Hasnon has admitted to attending a durian feast recently, and not last year as he previously claimed.
He also apologised for his mistakes and said he would cooperate with the police who are investigating the alleged standard operating procedure (SOP) violation.
In a statement today, Rashid said he had mistakenly commented on the video of him at the feast when contacted by the media yesterday without actually watching it first.
"I apologise for the confusion, when the media contacted me to ask about the video of me at the (durian) orchard, I answered without seeing the video first," he said.
He added that he only had a chance to analyse the video after he met the Yang di-Pertuan Agong yesterday.
Rashid had met the king together with the speakers of the lower and upper houses to discuss reopening Parliament.
The deputy speaker was caught on camera eating durians with a large group of people and the photos went viral.
The event was said to have taken place in his constituency Batu Pahat in Johor on Sunday.
When contacted by Malaysiakini, he said the feast was last year and that it was an "old video".
His aide had also maintained that the presence of individuals at the durian feast with matching clothing from an earlier event at the Batu Pahat Municipal Council on the same day was a "coincidence".
In his statement today, Rashid said he had received many complaints from small farmers who had been facing difficulties since the first movement control order (MCO) last year.
He said in the video of him eating durians, he had visited an orchard that was facing difficulties during this current MCO.
"Once I arrived at the orchard, its owner served durians to us.
"I ate a bit while discussing with the orchard owner about aid measures that can be given.
"After the discussion ended, I left the programme early because I had to return to Kuala Lumpur," he said, adding that the feast took place after Local Government and Housing Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin left Batu Pahat after attending an official event.
Gatherings are banned under the total lockdown due to Covid-19.
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