(Petaling Jaya, Friday):
It is most shocking that the Dewan Rakyat has taken so
lightly the obnoxious behaviour of Senator Datuk M. Kayveas, who had demeaned
and degraded Parliament by his locker-room language of “one-night stand” and
“two-night stand” when answering questions as Housing and Local Government
Deputy Minister in Parliament on Wednesday.
Even in civil Internet
chat-rooms, there are civilized guidelines banning the use of indecent and bawdy
language but such decencies and civilities are completely lost not only on
Kayveas, but on the Speaker and many Members of Parliament in allowing Kayveas
to gloat that he could use such locker-room language, with many Barisan Nasional
MPs obviously enjoying it without any sense of disapproval.
The issue is now no more Kayveas but how the august chamber
of Dewan Rakyat could allow a
Senator to demean and degrade it with such locker-room language without any
sense of outrage whatsoever.
Any self-respecting MP, regardless of party, race, religion or gender, would have censured Kayveas for such locker-room language and it is most shameful that the elected MPs have done nothing to retrieve their honour and dignity and that of the Dewan Rakyat, with Kayveas preening on his cleverness to talk about “two-night stand” while withdrawing the term “one-night stand”.
The MPs in the
Dewan Rakyat should declare Senator Kayveas persona non grata
in the Dewan Rakyat for his
obnoxious locker-room language demeaning
and degrading Parliament and ban him from entering Dewan Rakyat unless he makes
fulsome apology and demonstrate unqualified contrition for his boorish behaviour.
If MPs in the Dewan Rakyat cannot protect their own self-respect, honour and dignity by administering a stern lesson to Kayveas for demeaning and degrading Parliament with his locker-room language, then they are raising fundamental questions about their own credibility and relevance.
(20/9/2002)