When Sabak Bernam MP Kalam Salan switched from Malay to Javanese during his parliamentary speech on the transboundary haze crisis, he had one audience in mind - Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.

His message was straightforward: Indonesia should act urgently to contain forest and peatland fires, while Asean should strengthen regional cooperation to prevent the haze from recurring.

He did not expect his remarks to attract widespread attention, surprise, and admiration from both conventional media and social media users.

For the Bersatu lawmaker, however, speaking Javanese came naturally, even if he readily admits that his grasp of the language is far from perfect.