SEREMBAN, July 30 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has reiterated his apology to the Indian community over his earlier use of a term which he acknowledged was inappropriate, admitting that he had chosen the wrong word while expressing his views.

He said the apology was made because he had no intention of offending anyone, but acknowledged that the term had caused discomfort among some members of the Indian community.

“At a forum at Universiti Malaya, I used an inappropriate term. I have already apologised because that was not what I meant.

“The Prime Minister is only human. There are times when I have no such intention but use the wrong word. I accept my mistake and have apologised,” he said when speaking at the PMX Meet-and-Greet session with the Indian Community here last night.

Also present were Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri R. Ramanan, as well as leaders of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and prominent members of the local Indian community.

He said apologising does not make a leader weak, but instead reflects sincerity in admitting mistakes and making amends.

“Apologising does not diminish me. I do it sincerely for the sake of bringing change to this country,” he said.

Meanwhile, Anwar stressed that Malaysia belongs to all its citizens regardless of race, and that no one should exploit racial sentiments by telling Malaysians of Chinese descent to return to China or Malaysians of Indian descent to return to India.

“I want to respond by saying that I do not care about such narratives. Malaysia belongs to all Malaysians and we must work for everyone.

“I am a Muslim and I was never taught to insult followers of the Hindu faith. I am Malay, and my parents never taught me to take away the rights of the Indian community or oppress the Chinese community,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ramanan described Anwar’s decision to apologise publicly as proof of the Prime Minister’s magnanimity and willingness to admit his mistakes.

He said not many leaders, let alone a Prime Minister, would be willing to do so despite holding the country’s highest administrative office.

“It takes a very big man. Even sometimes we, in the business world, even small people like us feel we are too big to apologise. But this is a Prime Minister of a country who is apologising for whatever his shortcomings are. And I think it takes a very big man to do that. A very, very big man,” he told reporters after the event.

At the same time, Ramanan urged the Indian community to make their electoral choice based on the government’s track record rather than political promises alone.

He said the government’s achievements included increasing the allocation for the Malaysian Indian Community Transformation Unit (MITRA) from RM100 million to RM150 million, building six new Tamil schools, and resolving more than 10,000 citizenship applications.

“Do not make decisions based on promises alone. Look at what has been delivered and judge the government’s track record before making your choice,” he said. — Bernama