Zuraida slams speaker for banning derogatory terms in Parliament

 

Zuraida Kamaruddin criticised Dewan Rakyat speaker Johari Abdul for banning MPs from using words such as “kafir” (infidels), “Zionists” and “Yahudi” (Jews) against their peers in Parliament.

According to the former minister, the ban was an "unfair move" that blocked lawmakers’ freedom of speech.

"It is 'shallow' for the Parliament to ban words that would not be deemed offensive even if uttered outside the Dewan (Rakyat).

"For example, the word 'kafir' became a polemic in Parliament recently because many MPs lack understanding about the word," the Muafakat Nasional deputy president said in a statement today.

Zuraida was responding to the directive issued by Johari yesterday that MPs will be banned from using derogatory words, which include the three mentioned above, against their colleagues in Dewan Rakyat, following several commotions that took place last week.

The speaker invoked Standing Order 36(10)(c), which prevents lawmakers from using words likely to promote feelings of ill-will or hostility between different communities in the federation.

Dewan Rakyat speaker Johari Abdul

Elaborating, Zuraida said the word “kafir” is an Arabian word used to refer to “non-believers”, or more precisely, non-Muslims who do not believe what their Muslim counterparts do.

"The Quran and hadiths also use this term to refer to the same, so how can the speaker, who is also a Muslim, ban this word from being used in Dewan Rakyat to refer to non-Muslims?" she asked.

Instead of imposing a blanket ban, Johari should instead explain the meaning of the word, and the context of its usage to all parliamentarians, because it was not meant as an insult or curse, she added.

'Not threats, curses'

Similarly, the words “Zionists”, and “Yahudi” are also akin to the terms "racists", "extremists", "Taliban", and "communists" often bandied about by both sides of the divide, according to Zuraida.

"It’s just a way of communicating with each other, and are not threats or serious curses, to the extent they have to be banned by the speaker.

"In my opinion, as a former three-term MP, the quality of the current parliamentary management and its members have gone down, compared to the previous sessions.

"The mental resilience of current MPs, especially those from the government, is so fragile that the speaker has to intervene and issue ridiculous directives to take care of their feelings," said Zuraida.

The former PKR leader predicted that more restrictions would be imposed on MPs in days to come, to the extent that the lawmakers would lose their “voices” in Dewan Rakyat, rendering them unable to serve the rakyat.

She also accused Johari of practising double standards - where he is seen as being "too mild" with government-aligned MPs, and "too strict" with their opposition counterparts.

"If Johari cannot be fair to everyone, I suggest he resign from his post and let others who are more worthy take the job.

"Although deemed 'rude' and 'vulgar' by certain quarters, the voice of MPs should not be restricted as it would cripple the development of the country's democracy." - Mkini