When Idris dropped a clanger

A television grab showing N. Gobalakrishnan (PKR-Padang Serai) whispering to Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia.

NST (28/5/08): A deputy minister who mispronounced a word in Tamil and an opposition MP who chastised him, found themselves in hot water yesterday.

Datuk Idris Haron's earlier mispronunciation didn't stop him from speaking Mandarin.

Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Idris Haron, who thought he had said Okarenggeh (please sit down) using the right intonation, received an earful from Tamil-speaking MPs who thought he had uttered a four-letter word.

He was also reprimanded by Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia.

N. Gobalakrishnan (PKR-Padang Serai), who raised the issue, found himself on the wrong end of the stick shortly after walking up to Pandikar Amin to whisper the word into his ear.

The Speaker was forced to take him to task after Barisan Nasional MPs charged that the act amounted to disrespect to the chair.

Gopalakrishnan, who apologised after being told to do so by opposition whip, Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak), however, told reporters later that he had walked up to the chair "after the speaker had indicated that he wanted to speak to me".

The 20-minute drama could not have occurred at a worse moment as a group of women and three representatives from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association were watching the proceedings.

It began when Idris resorted to Tamil in order to get Mohd Nasir Zakaria (Pas-Padang Terap) to sit after several attempts at interrupting the former's speech.

However, the way Idris pronounced the word sounded like a word that could mean "having sex" in Tamil.

Gobalakrishnan immediately protested, leading to at least 10 MPs from both sides of the political divide to support Idris or Gobalakrishnan.

Pandikar Amin had his hands full as he tried to calm the situation and figure out if Idris had indeed uttered an unparliamentary word.

"Yang Berhormat. Please sit. How can I make a decision when I don't understand what was being said? The deputy minister said something, but I don't know in what language. I've asked Gobalakrishnan to repeat it, but he refused."

M. Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat) chastised Idris, saying that he shouldn't have said the word if he did not know how to pronounce it.

An unrepentant Idris told Kulasegaran to zuo xia (seat down) in Mandarin before challenging the Opposition MPs, particularly Gobalakrishnan, to pronounce the word correctly.

Pandikar Amin advised MPs again to not use unparliamentary words in the House.

"How many times do I have to remind all of you, including ministers. I remind you all the time, but you all repeat it after two or three hours. You understand what I'm trying to say?" he said.

Idris tried to defend himself by saying he meant to ask the Padang Terap MP to sit down.

A bemused Pandikar Amin said that since no one wanted to enlighten him on what Idris was believed to have said, he would have to seek help from outside the chamber.

At this juncture, Gobalakrishnan walked to the chair and whispered to Pandikar Amin.

Gobalakrishnan's action sparked a protest from backbenchers including Datuk Bung Mukhtar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan), Salleh Kalbi (BN-Silam), Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing (BN-Bintulu) and Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi (BN-Batu Pahat).