And people who break the law like Bung Mokhtar are NOT a menace?

Women drivers are a menace, says Bung Moktar
Kinabatangan MP Bung Moktar Radin today stirred the hornet’s nest again as he blamed reckless drivers, “especially women drivers”, for being traffic hazards.

The BN backbenchers club deputy chairperson, notorious for his “leaks every month” jibe against Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah) in 2007, said reckless drivers – particularly women – were a major cause of traffic accidents.

“They relax; think that because they are inside a car the world is theirs. They don’t look left and right and when we honk they get angry. There are times when we honk, they show all sorts of sign language,” he said when debating the supplementary supply bill.

Dr Siti Mariah Mahmood (PAS-Kota Raja) was in no mood to let Bung’s statement slide.

bung mokhtar parliament 080708 01″I ask that he retract his statement,” she immediately interjected. “(His statement on) women drivers is too general,” she added, sparking a war of words between the two.

Bung (left) defended his statement, saying “it’s true”, and accused the opposition of politicising what he said a few minutes earlier.

“We are talking about accidents, do not politicise anything. I stress here, do not be a monkey… semua nak politik. Mati pun politik kah? (you politicise everything. You even want to politicise death?)” he said.

Ill-informed man with limited experience

At this point, Dzulkefly Ahmad (PAS- Kuala Selangor) interjected to ask Bung what evidence his allegation was based on, reminding Bung that his own wife and mother are both women.

Siti Mariah added that Bung made an ill-informed statement based on his own limited experience, and was being unfair to many women who took the trouble to learn how to be cautious.

However, Bung remained adamant, saying he was not being disrespectful to women but that road mishaps “definitely happen to women who just passed” their driving tests.

“Do not politicise the issue. There is no discrimination… (I am referring) only to new drivers. I urge the authorities to figure out how to pursue road safety for all parties,” he said.

Abdul Rahman Dahlan (BN-Kota Belud) was the only person to stand in Bung’s defence, saying the senior MP was not demeaning women.

“I sympathise with Kinabatangan… there are no negative implications (to his statement). Women are more careful, so they drive slower. There is no discrimination (against women),” he said.