Ghazally Ismail, formerly of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, said Wan Fayhsal’s proposal was an embarrassment to Parliament and reflected the Bersatu man’s lack of knowledge on the scientific classification of flowers.

“Rafflesia is not a brand or street name. It is the scientific name of a genus of parasitic flowering plants found in Southeast Asia – one that predates (Wan Fayhsal’s) parliamentary career and, if we’re lucky, will outlive it.

“You are not challenging colonialism. You are embarrassing the very Parliament you swore to serve. What’s next? Rename Newton’s laws because Isaac Newton wasn’t Malaysian?” he said, according to The Borneo Post.

Ghazally also questioned the opposition MP’s priorities, adding that renaming the world’s largest flower would not “decolonise anything”.

He said the Perikatan Nasional man should be using his time in the Dewan Rakyat to raise more pressing matters like the cost of living and environmental and education issues.

“Perhaps next week we should rename Homo sapiens as well? After all, ‘Homo’ might confuse those less inclined towards Latin, and ‘sapiens’ suggests wisdom, which clearly not all who belong to the species possess in equal measure,” he quipped.

Ghazally said Wan Fayhsal’s suggestion also trivialised the actual impact of colonialism while reducing parliamentary debates to cheap exercises for political points.

“Let’s leave the Rafflesia alone. The flower may smell like death, but it pales in comparison to the intellectual decay we’re witnessing.”

Ghazally, a medical immunologist, reportedly played a key role in the setting up of the Rafflesia forest reserve in Sabah’s Crocker Range National Park.

Wan Fayhsal suggested renaming the Rafflesia on Tuesday, saying it was named after Raffles, whom the former deputy minister described as “a man without morals or ethics”.