KUCHING: Under fire Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing has issued an apology for his earlier remark in Parliament which caused public uproar last week.
“To ensure the smooth process of Dewan Rakyat and for the sake of national interest and harmony, I apologise for my words during my debate on the 2021 Budget.
“It was never my intention to belittle the contribution of doctors, nurses, frontliners including the Health director-general.
“I do not want it to be just because of me, the whole process of Dewan Rakyat is being affected,” he said in a statement on Sunday (Nov 15).
Last week, the national media went on a frenzy after Tiong castigated Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah when lamenting the third wave of Covid-19 which is sweeping the nation.
Tiong had, when debating on Budget 2021, insinuated that Dr Noor Hisham was “afraid of death” alleging the latter hardly visited Sabah to get on top of the outbreak following its spike in Covid-19 cases.
This was harped on by several MPs, who interjected and caused a ruckus during the Dewan Rakyat sitting, being the centre of attention instead of the Bintulu MP’s overall message.
Outside of Dewan Rakyat, netizens and several quarters also took Tiong to task over his remark — calling for him to issue an apology.
In reflecting on this, Tiong who is also the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to China said his sole intention was to bring the issue of Covid-19 to the attention of Parliament.
“The Covid-19 issue is causing worry among the people for which measures can be implemented more effectively,” he said.
