Closure? Not so fast...

Like many Malaysians, I too was appalled, yet not surprised, at the recent vulgar innuendoes uttered by the two Members of Parliament, Bung Mokhtar Radin and Mohd Said Yusof. These two individuals whose many past antics in and out of Parliament have included spouting out sexist and racist remarks and allegedly being involved in corrupt practices, continue to be a stain and disgrace on the honour and integrity of the Parliament of Malaysia. That they will continue to be unrepentant (the recent apology was probably painfully extracted under pressure from the political leadership) and are likely to repeat their childish and chauvinistic behaviour despite the uproar of the recent controversy, is also not surprising and is probably expected on the basis of past similar performances. That they continue to represent the Barisan National despite everything they have said and done, is a disgrace to the coalition and should be treated as such.

It is time for our Prime Minister to call these two to account for their behaviour. Least he forget, the rakyat is best served in Parliament by those who are the best that we can find and who appreciate and value the virtues of respect, honour, integrity and honesty. We should not resort to retain those who are clearly disdainful of these values and who continue to represent and perpetuate a culture of impunity. As a rakyat of this country and a voter, I call on the Prime Minister to suspend these two individuals, to drop them from the coming elections, and demonstrate to other Parliamentarians the need to be accountable for what they say and do. If you or the Deputy Prime Minister as the Government Whip are able to punish BN MPs who vote against or abstain from supporting government sponsored bills, surely this requires very little effort. This continued culture of impunity in Parliament whether on issues of gender chauvinism or corruption, must end.

I was also appalled to note the lack of support to Fong Po Kuan by the chairperson of the Parliamentary Caucus on Gender Equality, Rozaidah Talib. She is obviously unworthy of the role and responsibility entrusted in the position of the Parliamentary Caucus chair. Rather than supporting the effort to censure the duo, she instead placed the blame on Fong and the opposition benches whom she stated were becoming too emotional and restrained herself from wanting to “blow the matter out of proportion”. Ms. Rozaidah should be reminded that gender equality is more than just having a seat at the table, it involves obtaining the respect of all regardless of gender. Who else should play a major role in creating this environment and preventing the reoccurrence of such incidences in Parliament if not the Caucus chair. I call on Ms. Rozaidah Talib to resign from the position of chairperson of the Parliamentary Caucus on Gender Equality, as she would no longer inspire confidence, credibility and integrity in the protection of this issue.