Madhavan Nair, who served from 1975 to 1989 as aide to DAP stalwart and former Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang, was able to closely observe parliamentarians at work and at rest. Like Yap, the MPs who made the greatest impressions on him hail from an earlier era. “I can think of two legends who may not be so well known nowadays, both of whom were single term MPs from 1969 to 1974. Hashim Gera the Parit MP from PAS was known to pepper his speeches with pantun and lengthy anecdotes. He was also known as the joget MP, which didn’t go down well with his more conservative party colleagues!

“Then there was Ng Hoe Hun who represented Taiping for the PPP. He used to come to Parliament in a Jeep, and quite often it wouldn’t start and we would have to help push-start it for him! He was also the rare one who used to stay in the Parliament tower (the iconic 17-storey building). In those days outstation MPs used to share two to a room and there were lots of ghost stories flying around!”

Other strong characters Nair recalls are former Foreign Minister Tun Ghazali Shafie and former Health Minister and Governor of Penang Tun Sardon Jubir. “People were scared of King Ghaz (as he was nicknamed). He thought nothing of giving public dressing-downs to senior officials! Tun Sardon is someone I remember as a very witty man.”