KUALA LUMPUR: The Dewan Rakyat erupted in a lighthearted moment today when Deputy Speaker of Dewan Rakyat Datuk Ramli Mohd Nor mistook fans of Taylor Swift, who call themselves "Swifties," as "striptease."
It all started when Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil (Lembah Pantai MP) told the Dewan Rakyat that he was not a fan of Taylor Swift, but some of his officers were huge fans of the multiple award-winning American singer.
Fahmi identified himself as a Sitizoner, which was what fans of Malaysian songbird Datuk Siti Nurhaliza call themselves.
He then pointed out to Bangi MP Syahredzan Johan, who is a Swiftie. Fahmi was referring to an X post that Syahredzan posted in November last year. In the post, Syahredzan said that 1989 was probably one of Taylor Swift's best albums.
While Fahmi was directing the question to Indera Mahkota MP Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah, he was briefly interrupted by the dewan's speaker, who needed a bit of clarification on the fanbase.
"YB, striptease?!" asked the visibly confused Ramli, to which Fahmi quickly clarified, "No, it's Swiftie, Taylor Swift."
Taylor Swift has just wrapped up her six sold-out shows in Singapore.
The Bad Blood and Shake It Off hitmaker caused a stir recently when Singapore was the only stop in the Southeast Asia (SEA) leg of the Eras Tour, significantly upsetting the other SEA nations.