The Malaysian Insight

PKR’s Ampang MP, Zuraida Kamarudin, made a thinly veiled attack on prime minister in Parliament today, when she said uttering aggressive phrases like “Kepala bapak kau” (Your father’s head), is a sign of mental illness.

The remark, made when she asked a supplementary question to the health minister on the government’s allocation to tackle mental health problems, caused an uproar among BN MPs.

“So, sadness and depression are mental illnesses that must be tackled. (A sign of) depression includes those who utter aggressive phrases like ‘Kepala bapak kau’. This is a symptom of mental illness, too,” Zuraida said in the run-up to her question.

Prime Minister Najib Razak had reportedly used the phrase in his speech at MCA’s 64th annual general assembly on Sunday when addressing criticism from Pakatan Harapan chairman and his former mentor Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Pendang MP Othman Abdul of BN immediately blasted Zuraida over her remarks.

“What is this? Ask a question, lah. It is Ampang who is not right in the head. It is Ampang who said it, we didn’t say it.”

Health Minster Dr S. Subramaniam was more collected in his response to Zuraida.

“One of the causes of stress is when a health question is politicised. As people who realise the need to reduce stress, we have to understand what questions are appropriate and which ones are not.”

The “Kepala bapak kau” controversy erupted when Najib had said it was stupid to allege that he was selling the country’s sovereignty when he courted China companies to invest in Malaysia.

“Kepala bapa kau. Where does the loss of sovereignty come from?” he had allegedly said. – November 9, 2017.