KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 1 — Fugitive blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin has apologised today to the Sikh community, following his racist remark on top police officer Comm Datuk Seri Amar Singh Ishar Singh’s turban.

Despite that, he continued to argue that his remark was not meant as an insult to Sikhism, nor was it his intention.

“I can argue that I did not consider my quip an insult to the Sikh faith or that this was not my intention. But it is not what I intended that matters but how what I said was received,” he wrote in a post on his Malaysia Today blog.

“And I also apologise to Amar Singh Ishar Singh because, as much as I may disagree with him, that disagreement should not be reduced to the level of insulting his religion.

He also insisted that his apology did not come because police reports have been lodged against him, or because he allegedly received threats due to his remark.

“I was told a Sikh’s turban is a very sacred item and they do not take too kindly to anyone making fun of it. For that I would like to sincerely apologise,” he said.

Raja Petra also said he has personally apologised to minister Gobind Singh Deo and Amarjit Singh Sidhu, since the two had represented him as lawyers together with Manjeet Singh Dhillon and the late Karpal Singh.

“‘Kenang budi’ is supposed to be a Malay trait and virtue. To insult the faith of those who did so much for you and asked for nothing in return is not ‘kenang budi’. It is the opposite of ‘kenang budi’,” he said.

Yesterday, Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind had slammed Raja Petra’s remark, calling it “uncalled for”.

He also reiterated the need for laws to regulate hate speech, that would have extra-territorial reach to prosecute offenders from overseas, since the blogger is believed to be residing in the United Kingdom.

Last Friday, Amar criticised Raja Petra for alleging RM43.3 million had been stolen by the police following the raids on former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s premises in May, calling it “baseless and simply ludicrous”.

The blogger responded with a vicious attack on Amar’s turban, prompting Amar to express his surprise over the retort.