Malaysia MP apologises for suggestion to ‘wear nothing’ on island resort to woman MP

Malaysian MP Mohd Suhaimi Abdullah has apologised for his sexist remark against a government backbencher last month.

While Mohd Suhaimi, who is Langkawi MP, did not mention the name of Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, of which the remark was targeted, he issued an apology to the Dewan Rakyat (lower house of Parliament) Speaker Johari Abdul and MPs.

“I would like to apologise for my mistake during my Budget 2024 speech on October 26. I am apologising to Tan Sri Speaker and MPs on my offensive and hurtful statement,” he told the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday.

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On October 26, Mohd Suhaimi told Kok that she could go to Langkawi even if she was not wearing anything after the latter had asked whether shorts were allowed to be worn on the holiday island.

“I want to specially invite YB Seputeh to come. It’s fine even if you’re not wearing anything when you come. Why are you asking about wearing shorts then?” he said then.

He also mentioned that he wanted to imagine what Kok would wear to Langkawi.

His comments drew an uproar from MPs during the parliamentary session.

“This is obscene. Your thoughts are not pure,” Kok said in response to Mohd Suhaimi.

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Chong Zhemin, who is the MP for Kampar, then said being naked in public was against the law.

“Not wearing anything is against the law. Please retract your statement. Not wearing anything amounts to being naked,” he said.

On Thursday, Mohd Suhaimi also said, “I would like to emphasise that as an MP of the legendary island, Langkawi is close to my heart. Issues related to Langkawi and its people should not be trivialised.”

Two of Kok’s fellow Democratic Action Party MPs, Young Syefura Othman and Lim Lip Eng, had earlier filed two motions to refer Mohd Suhaimi to Parliament’s Rights and Privileges Committee.