KUALA LUMPUR: The word "bocor", once used by a male MP in a sexist remark in 2007, again triggered a ruckus in the Dewan Rakyat when Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim (pic) (BN – Baling) used it to refer to a woman’s menstrual cycle.
Abdul Azeez was debating the second reading for the Sedition (Amendment) Bill 2015 when he linked the word "bocor" (leakages) to a woman’s period.
Abdul Azeez had said on Thursday that in the Dewan that some non-Muslim women "mungkin bocor (may be 'leaking')" when they entered mosques, using the phrase to refer to a woman menstruating.
His words caused a stir in the House, with women MPs like Teo Nie Ching (DAP - Kulai) and Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff (PAS – Rantau Panjang) verbally lashing.
“This shows you don’t even respect your own mother,” said Siti Zailah.
Mohamed Hanipa Maidin (PAS – Sepang) then raised the Standing Order to ask Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia to refer Abdul Azeez to the Rights and Privileges Committee over his statement.
Pandikar said Standing Order 36 (4) prohibited MPs from making sexist remarks.
“We have recently amended the Standing Order to include this provision. I order you (Abdul Azeez) to retract your comment,” he said.
To this, Abdul Azeez said: “I retract what I said even though I didn’t say such things. I had no intention to insult women.”
This prompted Nurul Izzah Anwar (PKR – Lembah Pantai) to retort, “That is not even an apology.”
The debate continued after the MPs calmed down.
In 2007, Datuk Bung Moktar Radin (BN – Kinabatangan) had used the word "bocor" in a similar fashion to refer to the menstrual cycle of the then Batu Gajah MP Fong Po Kuan. Bung later apologised for his statement.
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