THE Dewan Rakyat descended into 10 minutes of chaos yesterday after a deputy minister used the word "buttocks" on an opposition member.

Deputy Transport minister Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin was chided by opposition MPs and was forced to retract the word, which he used on N. Gobala-krishnan (PKR-Padang Serai).

The argument was triggered when an accusation of bribery was heard in the house when Lajim was answering a supplementary question by Datuk Mohd Sirat Abu (BN-Bukit Katil) on the upgrading of the Batu Berendam Airport.

Lajim's reply to Sirat was interrupted towards the end when he implied that Pakatan Rakyat could not afford to build the airports even if they did take over the government as the current government spends billions of ringgit to build one.

At this juncture, a member was heard shouting , "that is a lot of money, half of it must be bribes".

The clearly agitated Lajim then replied "Macam la, waktu Anwar jadi menteri kewangan, tak ada rasuah (As if, when Anwar was the Finance Minister, there were no bribes)."

His reply sparked a furore among the opposition MPs, notably from Gobalakrishnan.

Lajim then told Gobalakrishnan that he was still a new MP who was tagging behind the buttocks of others. Despite incessant protests, Lajim stood his ground saying the word was not sensitive.

"I meant the act of following others from behind which could be considered as following from behind their buttocks."

Lajim may have been innocuous in making the remark about following buttocks but to the PKR members whose leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is facing a sodomy charge, it was something not to be taken lightly.

Deputy speaker Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar had his hands full controlling the house and had to repeatedly remind members to mind their language.

He tried explaining that Lajim's statement was not a personal attack but his explanations fell on deaf ears.

Eventually, Wan Junaidi reprimanded the MPs, saying they were not allowing him to make a ruling on the matter.

"You are constantly yelling and screaming. Everybody stop talking," he said and finally asked Lajim to retract the word.

"Two wrongs don't make a right. We as elected representatives should be on our best behaviour and not embarrass each other this way," said Wan Junaidi before calling for the next question.