KUALA LUMPUR: Chaos erupted in the Dewan Rakyat after a DAP MP called out her peers from Umno for making sexist remarks.
The incident happened when Teo Nie Ching (PH-Kulai) spoke of her experience in dealing with sexist remarks from MPs while debating the Sexual Harassment Bill 2021.
She accused Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim (BN-Baling), Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) and Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (BN-Pasir Salak) of frequently making sexist remarks.
“When this Act is enforced, will there be a change in Parliament? When a tribunal is formed, and these MPs continue to make sexist remarks, can we haul them to the tribunal?” she asked.
“Or will we let them go because of (parliamentary) immunity? If they continue (to make sexist remarks), it means that the institution (Dewan Rakyat) has failed to protect the dignity of the MPs, and the Speaker has failed to defend the dignity of the MPs.”
Ramkarpal Singh (PH-Bukit Gelugor) then interjected and asked whether she thinks the Speaker has failed in his duty as MPs kept making sexist remarks.
Azeez then stood up and said: “There are reasons (why we make such remarks). When you have MPs calling the Speaker ‘barua’ (lapdog), we will get angry.”
His comments prompted Ramkarpal to ask Azeez if he was justifying sexist remarks, sparking a war of words between the duo, Teo and Kasthuri Patto (PH-Batu Kawan).
The argument was cut short by deputy speaker Rashid Hasnon.
Teo then questioned the ministry’s failure to stand up for victims of sexual harassment in the past.
“When a teacher made a rape joke, where was the voice of the ministry? When students made complaints about sexual harassment during period spot checks, where was the voice of the ministry?” she asked.
Teo also wondered how effective the Act would be in changing people’s mindset if the minister did not take an uncompromising stance on the matter.
The debate on the bill will resume tomorrow.
Azeez was previously accused of making sexist and racist remarks when he described Kasthuri as being dark and told her to wear powder during a sitting in 2020.
In November 2016, Tajuddin described Seputeh MP Teresa Kok as “the only woman with a ‘kok’ in Parliament” when answering a supplementary question.
In 2007, Bung said a leaky ceiling in the Parliament building was reminiscent of a woman’s menstrual cycle. He reportedly said the Batu Gajah MP at the time also “leaks every month” in reference to DAP’s Fong Po Kuan. - FMT
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