An Apology Is Not Your Reset Button — Syerleena Abdul Rashid

POLITICAL accountability cannot simply mean apologising after crossing the line. It must also mean having the judgment not to cross it in the first place. Datuk Noorazli Said has said he did not intend to insult anyone and is “prepared to apologise” if his remarks caused misunderstanding. Yes, he should apologise. But that cannot be the end of the matter. We have seen this routine too often in Malaysian politics: an offensive remark is made, there is public anger, context is offered, intentions are explained, and eventually comes the apology. Then we reset. That “cakap dulu, minta maaf kemudian” culture needs to stop. What happened at the UMNO General Assembly was not a slip of the tongue. Datuk Noorazli chose to tell a sexually suggestive joke involving a Catholic priest and a nun. The joke involved a man's hand lingering on a woman's thigh, with the suggestion that it should move further. He then brought Christian scripture into the punchline through a supposed reference to Psalm 129 which does not contain the words he attributed to it. There were many opportunities between recalling that joke and delivering its punchline for judgment and common sense to intervene. Apparently, neither did. His defence that the joke is widely circulated online makes matters worse, not better. The internet is an endless repository of racism, misogyny, religious insults and stupidity. Political leaders are expected to possess sufficient discernment not to repeat everything they encounter online from a public platform. As a Muslim, I am deeply offended by the casual disrespect shown towards another community’s faith. Malaysian Christians should never have to protest before political leaders remember that their clergy, scripture and religious traditions deserve dignity. Respect should shape our conduct before offence is caused, not suddenly appear afterwards in an apology. The treatment of the nun in this joke is just as troubling. For years, women have fought to have unwanted touching and sexual harassment taken seriously. We tell women to speak up. We tell men that boundaries matter. Then we turn a man's hand moving up a woman's thigh into a punchline and wonder why people are angry. That is not harmless humour and dismissing objections as oversensitivity would miss the point entirely. An apology from Datuk Noorazli is necessary. But it cannot become another reset button that allows everyone to forget the conduct that required it. Political leadership demands judgment before the controversy, not contrition after it. No Christian should have to explain why their faith deserves respect. No woman should have to explain why unwanted touching is not a joke. And no senior political leader should require a national backlash to discover what should have been basic common sense. So yes, Datuk Noorazli, apologise but perhaps spend less time explaining your intentions and more time reflecting on why basic decency had to be pointed out to you by everyone else. - September 14, 2026 Syerleena Abdul Rashid is Member of Parliament for Bukit Bendera. The post An Apology Is Not Your Reset Button — Syerleena Abdul Rashid appeared first on Scoop .