Tiong, who is also the special envoy to China, said he had never intended to deny the sacrifices of frontliners combating the Covid-19 pandemic, including Noor Hisham.

“To ensure that Dewan Rakyat proceedings can go on smoothly and in the interest of the nation’s harmony, I apologise if I had spoken excessively during the 2021 Budget debate.

“I only intended to debate the matter of Covid-19, which is a concern among the people. I do not want all of the Dewan Rakyat’s matters to be hindered because of me,” he said in a statement today.

Tiong received a barrage of criticism ever since his speech on Wednesday, when he questioned Noor Hisham for not visiting hospitals in Sabah, asking the health director-general if “he was afraid of dying from Covid-19”.

The government MP from Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) had also accused the health DG of seeking publicity with his daily health briefings, saying Noor Hisham should be going to the ground with the Covid-19 situation in Sabah worsening.

His comments prompted an opposition party, Parti Sarawak Bersatu, to call on Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to sack Tiong as the special envoy to China if he does not apologise for his remark.