Norfarihan Baharudin, 23, said that as soon as they realised a video of them climbing the Ipoh signboard had gone viral on social media they wanted to apologise but were never given the chance.
“You know how it is when you’re publicly criticised so I never got the chance to issue a statement. I was too afraid to say what I wanted to say.
“I want to state that my friends and I want to apologise to the people. We know what we did was wrong,” she said in a video uploaded by the China Press.
Previously, pictures and a video of the eight youths climbing the giant “Ipoh” sign went viral on social media, including Instagram and YouTube.
The group also recorded themselves lying on a hammock, which was tied to the sign’s steel framework.
The Ipoh City Council (MBI) issued a statement saying it had not received any application to climb the signboard.
Norfarihan said she and her friends had always enjoyed mountain climbing.
“We have our own experiences so when we climbed the sign, we had already taken our safety into account.”
She said they were shocked over the criticism and publicity they received.