Tun M sorry for derogatory remark
> PH chairman said he did not mean to insult Indian community
PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad apologised to the Indian community yesterday for using the word “keling” at an event over the weekend.
“I never meant to insult anybody when I said that. When I was younger, it was okay to use the word.
“Now I understand that it is considered to be derogatory. I apologise if it had caused any problems to anyone,” he told a press conference after chairing the PH presidential council meeting, yesterday.
The apology from the veteran statesman came just two days after he declined to apologise for using the word “keling”, claiming it did not have derogatory connotations in Kedah where he was born and raised.
His action drew flak and irked many people including National Human Rights Society (Hakam) chairman Datuk S. Ambiga and MIC treasurer-general Datuk Seri S. Vell Paari, with many others criticising the former premier online.
Mahathir has also rubbished a report quoting him as saying that the people of Sabah and Sarawak are lazy, clarifying that he had only called certain leaders of Sabah “greedy”.
He said it would make no sense for him to insult the rakyat there as it would only backfire on the Opposition in its attempt to win votes.
“I never said the rakyat of Sabah and Sarawak were lazy. It was the report that said that. I would be crazy to say such things if I wanted support for the party.
“What I did say was that the (BN) leaders, especially of Sabah, are very greedy,” he said, without elaborating.
Mahathir was reported as saying at a forum that Sabah and Sarawak were far behind in terms of development compared to other states because their people were of low mentality and the leaders there were greedy and only looking to make quick money by selling logs to foreign countries.
On another matter, Mahathir said Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) will abide by the Registrar of Societies’ (RoS) decision to temporarily de-register the party.
He, however, said members of the party would exercise their rights as citizens to run as independent candidates in the elections under the PKR’s banner.
“So PPBM will not contest in this election. We respect RoS. But we have a right as a citizen to contest as independents, and with the consent of PKR, we will use their logo,” he said.
On the Election Commission’s announcement that the polling day would fall on a Wednesday (May 9), Mahathir branded it as a suppression of voters’ right, but said PH would not be affected by it.
He pointed out that there were some 500,000 Malaysians working in Singapore alone, and that it would also be inconvenient for those working in the city centre here to head back to their respective polling districts midweek to cast their ballot.