Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) president Bintulu MP Tiong King Sing has apologised for his outburst in the Dewan Rakyat on Nov 11.
Tiong today tendered his apology for suggesting Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah was “afraid to die” because of his purported absence from Bintulu.
“To ensure a smooth Dewan Rakyat session and in the interest of national harmony, I apologise if I overstepped my boundaries during the Budget 2021 debate.
“It has never been my intention to deny the noble deeds of all the doctors, nurses and frontliners including the director-general of health.
“I only intended to debate the issue of Covid-19 that is troubling the people so that it can be executed more effectively,” he said in a statement, referring to measures implemented by the government to combat the epidemic in Malaysia.
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.”
He had also accused the D-G 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 remarks drew condemnation from the Opposition and resulted in the ejection of two DAP MPs, RSN Rayer and Lim Lip Eng over the next two days.
Tiong said he had no intention of criticising the frontliners, especially Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
“I was only debating the Covid-19 issue that is worrying the people so that it could be immediately resolved,” he said in a statement.
“I had no intention whatsoever to criticise the hard work of our frontliners, especially the D-G.
“I would like to apologise for my words during the 2021 Budget debate.”