Sabah women to Najib: Drop blundering Bung

Sabah women want the Gender Caucus in Parliament to intensify efforts to gender-sensitise chauvinistic MPs like Bung Mokthar.

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah MP Bung Mokthar Radin has come under fire in his homestate for bringing disgrace to Sabah with his rude and uncouth outbursts in Parliament.

Sabah Women’s Action-Resource Group (Sawo) wants Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to act against the Kinabatangan MP and drop him from the Barisan Nasional list of candidates in the next election.

“We are making the call in the interest of good governance,” said Sawo president Winnie Yee.

She said Bung Mokthar had scandalised Sabahans once again by pinpointing women drivers as the major cause of road accidents in the nation.

“His sexist and uncouth remarks on women have made Sabahans a laughing stock in the nation and the world.

“We are ashamed and demoralised that he is representing us in the Dewan Rakyat.

“Because of his uncalled-for behaviour, we are a target of ridicule among other Malaysians,” said Yee.

Sawo now wants the Gender Caucus in the Dewan Rakyat to intensify their efforts in gender sensitising MPs to ensure Parliament is not gender biased and sexist.

Insensitive rep

Yee said Bung Mokthar’s “antics” in Parliament had made a mockery of the government’s efforts to promote gender sensitivity and equality in Malaysian society.

“Perhaps Bung Mokhtar has forgotten that half of the community that he represents are women. By being derogatory to women he is showing that he does not appreciate their support nor contribution.

“Further, he has also shown that he does not respect the women’s husbands, fathers, sons and all their male relatives,” she said.

Bung Mokhtar is no stranger to controversy.

A year ago, he elicited sniggers from fellow BN MPs in Parliament when he told a female parliamentarian that women also leak once a month when she had questioned the continued roof leak at the Parliament building despite millions having been spent to renovate the building.

Opposition parliamentarian Karpal Singh named him ‘Big Foot’ for his blundering ways and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin most recently indirectly questioned his ability to communicate and articulate the needs of his constituents. - FMT