Chong wants action against PN MPs for 'offensive language' in Dewan

A government MP has filed a motion to refer two opposition lawmakers to the Parliamentary Rights and Privileges Committee for using offensive language.

Kampar MP Chong Zhemin made the move after Hulu Terengganu MP Rosol Wahid and Alor Setar MP Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden uttered two different words deemed derogatory while speaking in the Dewan Rakyat.

The motion was submitted to the Dewan Rakyat secretary this afternoon.

Speaking to reporters, Chong (above, centre) cited the Parliament Hansard dated Oct 21 that recorded the two separate incidents at 12.30pm and 7.10pm.

According to the Hansard, Rosol said: "Terima kasih Larut (Hamzah Zainudin). Banyak cukai akan dibebankan di atas pundak rakyat. Bukan ‘pund*k’ ya. Pundak... [Ketawa] Pundak rakyat.” (Thank you, Larut. There will be many taxes to be carried as a burden on the shoulders (pundak) of the rakyat. Pundak, not pund*k.)

This occured during the opposition leader's debate of the Supply Bill 2025.

In Afnan’s case, he was speaking out against the absence of government MPs during the evening debates on Monday.

Afnan said: "Ada. Saya ada dekat Alor Setar. Ini yang turun ini datuk speaker, perdana menteri. Perdana menteri ini ada pejabat, ada pegawai. Perdana menteri bukan mamak pasembur boleh turun ikut dan jumpa orang atas jalan." (The prime minister is not a mamak pasembur who can go meet people on the streets.)

Chong said both words - pund*k and mamak pasembur - should be defined as offensive and unparliamentary under Standing Order 36(4).

The first word is known as an expletive, while mamak pasembur refers to a seller of the pasembur dish.

Jelutong MP RSN Rayer had also condemned Afnan's remark as an alleged insult to Indian Muslims.

‘Bukan’ doesn’t save it

Chong said while the two MPs had prefaced their remarks with the word "bukan" (not), such a justification should not be accepted as an excuse.

"If such justifications are accepted, that means on other occasions there will be a 'free for all' among all MPs.

"They can use the word 'bukan' (not) to basically say anything. So to me, this is unacceptable," he stressed.

‘They just attend to create trouble’

At a separate press conference today, suspended Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal spoke out against not only the absent government bench but "troublemakers", including Chong and Rayer.

"The rakyat must rise and question where are the government MPs, whose numbers (in Parliament) are growing fewer day by day, to listen and be involved in debates.

"They all just attend to create trouble, like Kampar, Jelutong... fighting on what issue? Mamak pasembur, that's it," he said.

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