“I’d like to apologise to the Indian community for using the term ‘keling’, I never meant to insult anybody,” he told reporters at the PPBM headquarters here today.
Mahathir said he grew up using the word, but it was not considered racist then.
“When I was a small boy, we used to use that word. It is now considered to be derogatory. So I apologise if I caused any problem.”
Mahathir used the word in a speech at a fundraiser in Muar on April 7, where he questioned Election Commission chairman Mohd Hashim Abdullah for saying that opposition parties must get approval to use a common logo at the coming polls.
“The keling people have a word for this. Podah (get lost),” Mahathir had said.
Mahathir had later defended his use of the term, saying it was not derogatory.
“That is how I refer to my friends, and they don’t have a problem with that. Why is MIC angry over this?” he had said.
The Pakatan Harapan chairman today also denied that he had described the people of Sabah and Sarawak as lazy.
“It is Utusan which said that, not me,” he said, referring to criticism from several Sabah and Sarawak leaders over his comments in a forum early this month.
He reportedly said that Sabah and Sarawak lacked progress because their leaders were greedy, and had resorted to logging activities to gain instant profits instead of developing infrastructure.
“I would be crazy to say that when I want them to support us during the election,” Mahathir said today.
“What I did say is that Sabah leaders are greedy and they have stolen some money from the government,” he said.