KUALA LUMPUR: Members of Parliament (MP) will no longer be allowed to utter the phrase 'kurang ajar' (disrespectful) in the Dewan Rakyat.
Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul declared the phrase 'unparliamentary' based on its definition in the official Bahasa Melayu dictionary, Kamus Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
"I would like to respond to a letter by Arau (Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim) to me, who asked for an explanation over the usage of the phrase 'kurang ajar'.
"After reviewing all that happened in the Dewan Rakyat, and referring to page 854 of the fourth edition of the Kamus Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka 2007, the phrase 'kurang ajar' means a person's manners are impolite, bad, or rude.
"Therefore, from this second, starting now, and today, I do not allow MPs to use the word 'kurang ajar' and I define this phrase as unparliamentary," he said when presiding over the lower house's afternoon session today.
Johari said he hoped all MPs regard the matter seriously.
After making the ruling, Datuk Ahmad Saad @ Yahaya (PN-Pokok Sena) stood up and asked for clarification on the phrase 'jangan kurang ajar' (don't be disrespectful).
Johari said MPs should choose different words instead as the phrase could cause problems.
"If you can, pick other words because it can create problems. As I said, the phrase in the dictionary means that someone's manners are impolite, bad, or rude."
Last week, Johari had reprimanded Shahidan for uttering the phrase 'kurang ajar'.
He then told Shahidan to retract his statement.