KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 — Former DAP man Hew Kuan Yew offered to apologise today for saying the "South China Sea belongs to China” in 2016, after it was announced that he will soon head the Malaysia-China Business Council (MCBC).

The politician, often called "Superman Hew” for his penchant for T-shirts with the superhero’s emblem, resigned from DAP over the remark made in July 2016 and maintained now that he was simply stating his personal opinion at the time.

Today, he also sought to convey that he now held a more neutral view over the territorial dispute, saying the matter should be based on Asean’s "‘South China Sea Declaration of Action” for a peaceful resolution.

"I am also willing to apologise to the people of the country on all kinds of disputes arising from this issue,” he said in his posting today.

"As a citizen loyal to the country, I promise to fully defend Malaysia’s national sovereignty and publicly withdraw the remarks that I made in the past,” he added.

Responding to criticism of his presence at a vigil to show solidarity with the anti-Beijing "Umbrella Movement” in 2014, he said this had been motivated by his history as a student of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, which he said sparked his interest in democracy and freedom.

He also asserted that his remarks then had been misconstrued as expressing support for the push for Hong Kong to be given independence from China.

Calling this a smear, he insisted that he was only showing support for democracy.

"Any peaceful means that is conducive to advancing the Hong Kong democracy movement, in principle, I support it, but it does not support Hong Kong independence,” he clarified.

He then shifted attention to his upcoming duties with MCBC, promising to aid China’s Belt-Road Initiative on the basis of mutual benefit and a win-win principle.

"It is my desire to bring benefits for all Malaysians of all races, and contribute my energy towards efforts of creating a globalised cooperation that is fair, and one that builds on the ‘fate of the human community’”, he said.