Ronald has lost his soul

Letter writer embarrassed by Deputy Speaker Ronald Kiandee's ‘unashamed abetment’ of Tajuddin Abdul Rahman’s act of punning Teresa Kok's name in Parliament.

FMT LETTERS

from: Ann Sonia, via email

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ronald Kiandee should be ashamed of himself. Here is a man who has opted to go against his own conscience and dignity, as shown by the meek and pitiful manner in which he came to the defence of the uncouth male chauvinist Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Tajuddin Abdul Rahman, who blatantly insulted MP Teresa Kok via a cruel twist of words.

Ronald must surely know what exactly Tajuddin meant when he punned on Teresa Kok’s name. Just look at the smirk on Tajuddin’s face when he said it and you know what lay behind that twisted mind. This is an unforgivable crime. Not only has he insulted Teresa Kok, but he has also brought shame to the august house by showing complete disrespect to women in general – women who could be his mother, his wife, his sister, his daughter and his granddaughter.

Ronald has unashamedly abetted Tajuddin in this crime by coming to his defence. It was within his powers as deputy speaker to censure Tajuddin, but he chose not to. This was like being an accessory to the fact, and one that as a Sabahan, I am deeply embarrassed over.

While Ronald remains in his ivory tower, I, as a fellow Sabahan, humbly apologise to women of all colour, creed and religion who have been humiliated by the actions of Tajuddin and Ronald Kiandee. I assure you, we Sabahans are a lot better than that.

We have been taught to respect women. We have been taught that we must live by a code. We have been taught that to be respected, you must first be respectful. We have been taught moral values and we were told to practise such values. What does it profit a man, it is said, if he loses his soul.

In this instance, it would appear that Ronald has lost his soul. Perhaps it has been blown away from the Land BelowThe Wind.

Ann Sonia is an FMT reader.