KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers were left unconvinced by Datuk Bung Moktar Radin’s apology for saluting Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, saying the Barisan Nasional (BN) MP had shown no remorse despite widespread uproar over his remark.

DAP Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming insisted that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak force Bung Moktar to quit his post as Kinabatangan MP and Umno supreme council member as the senior politician did not seem sincere in his apology.

"His tweet apology does not show an ounce of contrition over what he said nor does it demonstrate that he understands the negative impact of his tweet on Malaysia's image overseas.

"I reiterate my call to Najib to ask Bung to resign as an MP and as an Umno central committee member," Ong told The Malay Mail Online.

Earlier today, Bung Moktar apologised for saluting Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler in his praise of the German World Cup team’s win over Brazil, moments after Najib condemned the remarks as “unacceptable and wrong”.

The Sabah politician took to his Twitter page to issue the apology, saying he had “unintentionally” hurt the feelings of Germans with his remarks, which has sparked international outrage.

But he ended his apology with a "long live Bung" parting shot, prompting critics to question his sincerity.

“When Germany whacked Brazil, I unintentionally said something that hurt d feeling of d ppl in Germany.MY SINCEREST APOLOGY.LONG LIVE BUNG..,” Bung wrote using his Twitter handle @MyKinabatangan.

Shah Alam PAS lawmaker Khalid Samad said although he hoped that Bung's apology was sincere, he had his doubts and suggested that the Umno MP may have done so forcefully.

"I hope it is sincere not just parroting his 'boss'. But I doubt if it is based on a real realisation of how stupid was his original statement," Khalid said.

Selangor State Legislative Assembly Speaker Hannah Yeoh also doubted that Bung was honest in his apology.

"A sincere apology should be accepted.

"But his sincerity in the apology proclaiming ‘long live Bung’ is questionable," Yeoh told The Malay Mail Online via text message.

The Kinabatangan MP’s apology was issued just minutes after Najib issued a statement condemning his Hitler salute.

Tweeting on his page, Najib said Bung's comments were unacceptable and wrong, adding that the Umno leader does not speak for Malaysia, or for ordinary Malaysians, who understand Europe’s tragic past, and respect its modern unity.

“This should be a time of celebration for Germany, and we wish them all the best in the final,” Najib tweeted via his handle @NajibRazak.

In the euphoria following Germany’s thrashing of Brazil during the World Cup semi-finals yesterday, Bung Moktar tweeted a salute to Hitler and drew a flurry of criticism from other Twitters users. An unrepentant Bung then heaped abuse on them.

“Well done… Bravo… Long live Hitler…” the federal lawmaker posted on the microblogging site via the Twitter handle @MyKinabatangan.

He later claimed the tweet was made in jest, and that he was commending the German team for “fighting like” Hitler.

Austrian-born Hitler was the leader of Nazi Germany between 1934 and 1945, and was at the centre of World War II.

Hitler was also behind the Holocaust, the mass extermination and execution of millions of European Jews in concentration camps.

Germany’s ambassador to Malaysia Holger Michael had objected to Bung’s salute of Hitler in his praise for the country’s performance in the World Cup, saying the comparison was “unacceptable”.

In a statement emailed to The Malay Mail Online, Michael said: “While we appreciate the admiration for the German football team, we strongly reject the unacceptable allusion to the fascist regime of Adolf Hitler,” the ambassador said in a statement.”

But Bung Moktar stuck to his guns, insisting on his Twitter page later that that the ambassador “doesn’t get it”.

Bung’s Hitler salute has since made headlines in a number of well-known foreign publications such as UK’s BBC and Daily Mail and US’s The Washington Post and The Huffington Post.