WHO would have thought that the man who defeated former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the last general election is long on imagination but is accused of being short on decorum?

With his seeming penchant for levity and sexual innuendos, Perikatan Nasional’s Langkawi MP Mohd Suhaimi Abdullah reportedly invited Teresa Kok to visit Langkawi and at the same time wondered how it would be like if she was to “wear nothing” on her visit.

This was after the Seputeh MP enquired in parliament whether visitors to Langkawi beaches were allowed to wear shorts.

Kok’s curiosity was triggered in wake of what happened in PAS-ruled Kelantan recently, where individuals were fined for wearing shorts. 

This is apart from an incident in which a female hair salon owner was fined RM100 by the Kota Baru Municipal Council for permitting her female worker to cut a male customer’s hair. This is not merely splitting hairs. 

Kok’s worry is well taken, given that Langkawi is a tourist destination, which is located in the Kedah state that is now governed by conservative PAS. 

But, as it turned out, Kok’s serious concern was matched with a leering reaction from Suhaimi, much to the apparent excitement of certain male lawmakers but to the chagrin of their female counterparts. 

This is, of course, not to imply that the Langkawi lawmaker is the sort of person who has an uncanny ability to use his curious eyes to visually disrobe women. We are also not suggesting that he gawks at scantily clad bodies. God forbid.

After all, doesn’t his religion call on the male faithful to lower their gaze in the company of women?

We shouldn’t cast aspersions on Suhaimi just because last February he revealed to fellow MPs in the Dewan Rakyat about him being invited by a woman to her house where she allegedly took off her blouse.

Now, before we let our own imagination run wild, the woman did that only to show – according to Suhaimi – she had lost one of her breasts after being attacked by her drug-fuelled son. That’s hard evidence not to be ignored by Suhaimi worth his salt, and one that stands to scrutiny.

To be sure, Suhaimi mentioned this story only to stress the importance of fighting drug addiction among youth. Nothing more, nothing less.

It’s good that the Langkawi lawmaker did not skirt around the issue of drug addiction. He just grabs the bull by the horns.

Obviously, this kind of addiction is corrosive to the moral fibre of the larger society, especially if it directly or otherwise adversely affects women.

For someone who had amassed a stunning majority of 13,518 votes against four other candidates including Dr Mahathir in the Langkawi constituency in the last general election, Suhaimi is certainly a man we can count on, especially when it comes to protecting women and their modesty, because he has the scrotal gumption to do so. 

Moreover, the outstanding triumph at the polls proves that the folk in Langkawi have full confidence in Suhaimi, who knows what makes himself tick. 

It would be unjust and unconscionable if we were to liken Suhaimi to the proverbial emperor who has no clothes just because he could be tempted to imagine other people in the raw. – October 29, 2023.