Art Harun a Speaker but no more a Hero

MM Online:

Speaker tells Baling MP to apologise, withdraw ‘gelap’ and ‘pakai bedak’ remarks

Azhar reminded federal lawmakers to avoid sexist, racist, offensive and unparliamentary terms

Picture by Hari Anggara

KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 — New Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun ordered Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim (BN – Baling) to apologise to Kasthuriraani Patto (PH – Batu Kawan) for offensive remarks he directed at her yesterday.

The former Election Commissions chief said Abdul Azeez’s description of the ethnic Indian lawmaker as gelap (dark) and recommendation that she pakai bedak (use facial powder) were unparliamentary and offensive.

“After going through the Hansard, I have made the decision that the words spoken are offensive. I instruct Baling to apologise and to retract that statement,” said Azhar, who is also known as Art.

Azeez aimed the remarks at Kasthuriraani yesterday and triggered an uproar in the Lower House.

Opposition lawmakers accused Abdul Azeez of being “racist” and “sexist” for his words.

After the Speaker’s orders today, Abdul Azeez said he will comply but wished to explain himself first.

“I had no intention of calling anyone with a racist slur. I was sitting in that same spot for two years. That area is very dark, it usually doesn’t receive any attention from the Speaker.

“When I said dark, I meant the area is dark, it’s not very visible. I think it’s important for netizens to know that I wasn’t calling any person dark because Allah has made me dark too. So, there’s no reason for me to call anyone dark.

“However, I retract my statement and I apologise,” said Abdul Azeez.

Azhar then reminded the federal lawmakers to avoid sexist, racist, offensive and unparliamentary terms.

Kasthuriraani then stood up and thanked Azhar for his decision but pressed him for a harsher penalty against Abdul Azeez.

She accused the backbencher of being a repeated offender when it comes to sexist and racist statements.

However, Azhar dismissed this and said he needed to continue with the day’s proceedings.

I wonder whether it was Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim (BN – Baling) or Azhar the new Speaker who made that apology?

Yesterday Azhar or Art as he was popularly known by, was a disaster as the new Speaker. That's not to say the Opposition wasn't out to disrupt the sitting every which way, wakakaka, and indeed we saw Khalid Samad (one of Mahathir's Bodek-ers) being expelled just 10 minutes into Art's role as Speaker.

But Art's greater disaster was his seeming tolerance of Abdul Azeez's racist jibe against Kasthuriraani Patto.

When you consider that in Art's "previous life" as an activist, that he made made much ado about integrity, honesty, credibility etc, you must be shocked that he was mucho quiescent in closing an eye to the overt racism right under his nose.

There is racism and there is racism but the one committed by Abdul Azeez was grossly disrespectful, defiant and disgraceful when he made that under the very scrutiny of the House Speaker, and I have to admit that as a former admirer of Art, I was utterly devastated by my former-hero's non-action.

Today Art used the "review of the Hansard" to do a repair job of the damage to his erstwhile reputation. Will he be forgiven?