KUALA LUMPUR: Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul has banned the Malay term “kurang ajar” (rude) from being uttered during Dewan Rakyat meetings.
Johari said he found the term unparliamentary after referring to the Kamus Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka dictionary.
This followed a letter from Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim (PN-Arau) who asked for an explanation of the phrase.
“After reviewing page 854 of the dictionary, ‘kurang ajar’ means impolite, bad, or rude.
“Therefore, from this moment and today, I will not allow any MP to use ‘kurang ajar’ and I define this phrase as unparliamentary.
“I hope you all will take this seriously,” he said before MPs began debating on the Supply Bill 2025 at the Committee Stage in Parliament on Wednesday (Nov 13).
Datuk Ahmad Saad @ Yahaya (PN-Pokok Sena) then asked whether the phrase “jangan kurang ajar” (don’t be rude) could be used instead.
Johari reiterated his ruling.
“If possible, use other words because this could lead to issues,” added Johari.
Last week, Shahidan was taken to task by Johari for using the term in the Dewan Rakyat.
