KUALA LUMPUR: It is high time stern action is taken against Members of Parliament who make sexist and rude remarks in the Dewan Rakyat, says a government backbencher.
Young Syefura Othman (PH-Bentong) said all MPs are obligated to act with decorum when debating in the august House and avoid remarks that are offensive to any group.
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“If no decisive action is taken against MPs who make rude and sexist remarks (in the Dewan Rakyat), the problem will never end,” she told a press conference at the Parliament building on Monday (Oct 30).
While debating Budget 2024 on Thursday (Oct 26), Datuk Mohd Suhaimi Abdullah (PN-Langkawi) had invited Teresa Kok (PH-Seputeh) to visit Langkawi wearing nothing, after the DAP lawmaker asked if shorts were allowed on the island.
Kok, who was also at the press conference, said she felt bewildered after Suhaimi gave the sexist response to her genuine concern for tourism in Langkawi.
"I had asked him the question... because he had repeatedly (claimed) that the government was not helping to promote Langkawi as a tourist destination.
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"There have been many complaints from (visitors to) Langkawi to the Tourism Ministry about being harassed by local authorities over their attire.
"I felt embarrassed when he suddenly gave such a sexist response to a valid question," she said.
Others who attended the press conference as a show of solidarity were Pakatan Harapan MPs Rodziah Ismail (Ampang), Syerleena Abdul Rashid (Bukit Bendera), Suhaizan Kayat (Pulai), P. Prabakaran (Batu), Sany Hamzan (Hulu Langat), Syahredzan Johan (Bangi) and Howard Lee (Ipoh Timur).
The group also urged Mohd Suhaimi to apologise and realise that his action was wrong.
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During the Dewan Rakyat session earlier in the day, Deputy Speaker Alice Lau said the two motions filed by Young Syefura and Lim Lip Eng (PH-Kepong) to refer Langkawi to the Rights and Privileges Committee were still being deliberated by Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul.
“So, wait for the decision when Tan Sri Speaker comes to the chambers,” she said.
There have been several incidents of male MPs making sexist remarks in the Dewan Rakyat against their female counterparts.
In 2021, then Pasir Salak MP Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman went on a tirade against women Opposition lawmakers and even went as far as to call them indecent.
He also allegedly uttered an obscenity while debating the Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill.
Kinabatangan MP Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin has been repeatedly criticised over multiple sexist remarks against women since 2007, when he first made a sexist remark about a woman MP's menstrual cycle.
