KUALA LUMPUR: DAP’s RSN Rayer, who sparked controversy in the Dewan Rakyat last week when he used the insult ‘kepala bapak’ during the sitting, stirred trouble again on Monday when he repeated the phrase.
The Jelutong member of parliament, from Pakatan Harapan, used the phrase when his attempt to raise an additional question was interrupted by Datuk Seti Hamzah Zainudin (BN-Larut).
Hamzah had criticised Rayer for trying to ask Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Dr Ong Kian Ming whether the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) issue had triggered outflow of foreign investments from Malaysia.
“Be patient, Larut. Otherwise, I would use ‘kepala bapak awak’ (your father’s head). Then ‘susah nanti’,” he said, causing murmurs to reverberate across the Dewan Rakyat.
Standing up, Hamzah held up the Parliament rule book and invoked Standing Order 36 (4), demanding that Rayer retract the insulting phrase.
Trying to calm the commotion, Speaker Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof ordered Rayer to withdraw the remark, reminding the lawmaker that he had previously been warned over the use of the phrase.
Just when Rayer was commenting on the retraction of the remark, the Dewan Rakyat erupted in chaos when Datuk Abdul Rahman Mohamad (BN-Lipis) uttered an expletive.
Mohd Ariff took issue with Abdul Rahman’s outburst.
“That one I heard. That is very impolite. Please retract. Otherwise I would order (Abdul Rahman) to leave the hall. Do not use such words in this hallowed hall,” Mohamad Ariff reprimanded Abdul Rahman.
Abdul Rahman then tried to explain his use of the word by referring to Rayer’s own tendency to use the phrase ‘kepala bapak kamu’.
The Speaker, however, maintained his ground.
“I order (Abdul Rahman) to retract that bad word as it is much worse than ‘kepala bapak (kamu)’. This does not bring any benefit to this hallowed hall,” said Mohd Ariff.
Abdul Rahman then withdrew the word in order for ‘us to teach him (Rayer)’ a lesson.
But instead of simmering down, the situation grew tense again when Rayer remarked ‘Padan muka, Larut’ (serves Larut right) to Hamzah.
Standing up again, Hamzah demanded Rayer withdraw the remark, pointing out that the latter is known for resorting to extreme words and phrases, unlike other PH lawmakers.
“The Deputy Minister had already answered nicely and I asked (an additional question) nicely. Then he (Rayer) brought in other issues (1MDB), leading to perception that he (Rayer) is not deserving of being a member of parliament,” Hamzah said.
Rayer retracted the remark.
In a previous parliamentary session, Deputy Speaker Nga Kor Ming had ordered Rayer to withdraw the ‘kepala bapak’ remark following protests from opposition lawmakers.
Meanwhile in answering Rayer’s additional question today, Ong said foreign investors applying to bring in foreign direct investment (FDI) in Malaysia did not specifically express any unease with regards to the 1MDB scandal.
“However, I am confident that with this new government, transparency will be increased and laws respected. This will have a good impact on FDI.
“When our ministers and deputy ministers go overseas, they do not need to worry about answering questions on 1MDB that was not answered by the previous government.
“This will allow Malaysia to promote itself as a more attractive FDI destination than before,” he said.
The additional questions were raised when Ong was answering a main question on the amount of investment withdrawn from Malaysia by foreign investors since May.