KUALA LUMPUR: A parliamentary sitting descended into a flurry of confusion, humour and thinly veiled threats on Wednesday (Aug 6) as lawmakers locked horns over two unexpected adversaries – the mysterious ‘mambar’ and the mischievous ‘mambang’.
It all began innocently enough when PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (PN-Kota Bharu) rose to cite Standing Order 14, accusing the Speaker of unfair allocation of oral questions.
“Out of 10 questions, six were given to government MPs, three to the Opposition, and one to Bukit Gantang – and we don’t even know if Bukit Gantang supports the government or not.
“It appears as though the Opposition is being sidelined,” he said in the Lower House.
Spicing things up, Datuk Rosol Wahid (PN-Hulu Terengganu) queried the status of six MPs now sitting on the backbenchers’ row.
“Are they government, Opposition, fence-sitters… or mambar? Mambar means not very firm,” he said.
According to Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, “mambar” means “unattractive, not energetic or sluggish”.
Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul, caught somewhere between bewilderment and diplomacy, clarified: “As far as I’m concerned, the six remain in the Opposition bloc.”
“There’s no black and white letter to state otherwise, so they still have the right to ask questions as Opposition MPs,” he added.
Unconvinced, Takiyuddin fired back: “But they’ve declared support for the government. So surely their questions are from the government side?”
The Speaker responded: “But again, there’s no black and white. I can’t just deny them.”
RSN Rayer (PH–Jelutong) later raised objection to the term “mambar”, describing it as “kurang sopan” (impolite) and calling for decorum in parliamentary language.
He added that the word “mambang” typically referred to a supernatural being or spirit in local folklore, suggesting it was inappropriate to use such terms in the House.
Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin (PN–Putrajaya) responded by criticising Rayer for allegedly confusing the two words.
“He doesn’t even know the difference between ‘mambang’ and ‘mambar’. This is precisely the issue with Jelutong,” he said.
Rayer then remarked, “Let’s not trivialise this. This is reflective of the standard of PAS.”
His comment prompted immediate reaction from PAS lawmakers.
Wan Razali Wan Nor (PN-Kuantan) urged him not to associate the party with the matter, while Takiyuddin accused Rayer of insulting Islam.
The intervention by Chong Zhemin (PH-Kampar), who questioned how referencing PAS equated to religious insult, did little to de-escalate the exchange.
Kota Bharu insisted, “You are clearly anti-Islam.”
In an effort to restore order, Johari addressed the linguistic confusion by noting that meanings can differ across regions.
“In Kedah, mambang refers to a girlfriend. In Terengganu, it may carry a different meaning. As for mambar, I truly do not know.
“It has been a while since we all had an ‘exercise’ and now that I have given all of you a chance, let this be the end of the matter. Case closed,” Johari said.
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