Speech

by Lim Guan Eng

(Kuala Lumpur, Thursday): Are we electing elected representatives to be national leaders or as circus clowns? 

Tonight’s forum has the twin objectives of upholding the dignity of women as well as upgrading the standards of debate and personal qualities of our MPs. The language of violence employed by certain wakil rakyats towards women will only lead to actual physical and sexual violence.  

How can women be treated with respect when they are described in such mean and humiliating terms that denudes them as a person and dehumanizes them as a human being? Such demeaning language only encourages women to be treated as objects of pleasure, or flesh like cattle. It has been said such coarse language and ugly prejudices only spawns sexual violence against women by more simple-minded men. 

No sane person would make fun of a women’s biological functions as done by YB Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin (BN – Kinabatangan) and YB Datuk Mohd Said Yusof (BN –  Jasin). No honourable person who values his moral authority would apologise in the morning before withdrawing such apology in the afternoon.  

And yet we have BN MPs who make fun of women forgetting that they were born because their mother is a woman, their child is a daughter, their sibling is a sister and their spouse is a wife. Power breeds arrogance and absolute power wraps wrong as right and warps white into black.  

Clearly anyone with minimal intelligence would know that such words used were wrong. But arrogance accompanying absolute power does not allow them to admit their mistakes much less apologise. Only when their bosses have indicated disapproval, are they willing to apologise. But once such disapproval is not conveyed, the apology once forthcoming is quickly withdrawn. Such fickleness is as outrageous as the offence itself. There is neither sincerity in the apology nor remorse for the wrong committed. 

Malaysians are also angry at those who chose to defend and countenance their mistakes from Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. Najib said that we should look at it from a humorous angle and not take the matter seriously. Nazri said that the two BN MPs were being emotional and had uttered the words in the heat of the debate. 

Najib is wrong. There is nothing humorous in the language employed. Aren’t MPs supposed to treat matters of national importance seriously, be rational not emotional, mean what they say and not say what they do not mean? Both Najib and Nazri as well as other members of the Cabinet from MCA, Gerakan, MIC and SUPP Ministers should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves for refusing to stand up for women’s dignity and accomplished debate in Parliament. By choosing to defend their BN colleagues out of misguided loyalty, the Cabinet has sacrificed principles for political expediency.  

There is no sense of moral culpability of the wrong committed nor a sense of shame at such proffering and immediate retraction of apology. If Parliament comprises MPs of such level, then we are not aspiring for first-class but no-class mentality. 

How can Malaysia prosper as long as our leaders are more interested in excluding Malaysians with crude and vulgar sexist, religious and racist jokes than practicing inclusive policies that engenders a sense of belonging? For this reason, our forum tonight is an expression of solidarity of all Malaysians not just with Fong Po Kuan but with all women who felt humiliated that the august chambers of Parliament have been used to denigrate them but also to demand better standards from our MPs. 

Parliament has no place for Male Chauvinistic Members of Parliament (MCPs) who degrade and shame their own mothers, daughters and wives with demeaning language. We have a right to demand that all political parties have a code of conduct in refusing to nominate candidates who have a history of prejudice against women and have refused to repent and atone for their discriminatory remarks against women. 

Reject MCPs from all political parties. Choose men of substance and not clowns. Let us restore decency in Parliament!