PUTRAJAYA, Dec 23 — The use of the term ‘keling’ during the Temu Anwar Dialog Mahasiswa programme at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) in Tanjung Malim, Perak on Thursday was only intended as a citation from the book titled Hikayat Hang Tuah, and not meant to insult any party, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

He said that the term ‘keling’ was taken from the book Hikayat Hang Tuah, in which the story recounts that Hang Tuah had a command of various languages, including Malay, Arabic, Siamese, and the Keling language, derived from the term "kalinga.”

"Now, the term ‘keling’ is disliked by many, so I don’t use it. I only quoted from the book.

"If there is any misunderstanding, I apologise, it’s not my intention (to insult). I’m the last person to cast aspersions, insulting any ethnicity or religion,” he said at a dialogue session with editors-in-chief and senior editors of the electronic, print and online media here today. — Bernama