An opposition politician in Malaysia has apologised for asking a female Member of Parliament (MP) to visit Langkawi without wearing anything, reported, The Star.

Visit Langkawi "even if you're not wearing anything"

In the parliamentary session on Oct. 26, Suhaimi Abdullah, the Bersatu representative for Langkawi, told Pakatan Harapan MP Teresa Kok that she could visit Langkawi "even if you're not wearing anything".

Suhaimi added that he was curious about what Kok would "wear to Langkawi".

His remark came after Kok asked Suhaimi if visitors could wear shorts at Langkawi beaches, MalaysiaKini reported.

Langkawi is part of Kedah, which is currently ruled by the opposition Perikatan Nasional coalition following the 2023 state elections.

Previously, a woman in Kelantan, another state governed by Perikatan Nasional, was fined for wearing shorts while in her own boutique.

Harassment Act

Suhaimi's comment sparked an outcry in the Dewan Rakyat, with Bentong MP Young Syefura Othman and Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng filing two motions to refer the Langkawi MP to the Rights and Privileges Committee.

Syefura stressed that the Dewan Rakyat had passed an Anti-Sexual Harassment Act last year, criminalising unwanted sexual advances in all forms— verbal, non-verbal, visual, sign, or physical— directed to an individual, MalaysiaKini reported.

Apologised to the Dewan Rakyat

On Thursday (Nov. 9), Suhaimi apologised to the Dewan Rakyat over the remark, acknowledging that what he said was wrong.

He did not mention Kok's name in his apology.

“I would like to apologise for my mistake during my Budget 2024 speech on Oct 26," Suhaimi said to the Dewan Rakyat.

“My apology is directed to the Dewan Rakyat Speaker (Johari Abdul) and MPs that may have been affected because of my mistake,” he added, as quoted by Free Malaysia Today.

“I would like to emphasise that as an MP of this legendary island, Langkawi is close to my heart. Issues related to Langkawi and its people should not be trivialised,” Suhaimi added.

Commenting on the apology in a Facebook post, Kok said that this is a "lesson to people's representatives who like to belittle women".

Top image via Dato' Mohd Suhaimi Abdullah/Facebook and Teresa Kok/Facebook.