Bung Mokhtar’s apology over Hitler remark causes further stir
Kinabatangan MP Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin has stirred a new controversy with his apology today over his widely-criticised tweet praising Adolf Hitler in Germany's World Cup semi-final win over Brazil.
Ordered by Putrajaya to withdraw and apologise for the tweet that said "Long Live Hitler", Bung Mokhtar tweeted, “When Germany whacked Brazil I unintentionally said something that hurd d feeling of d people in Germany. MY SINCEREST APPOLOGY.LONG LIVE BUNG“.
The apology tweet is causing further ripples in the microblogging service, just as his earlier tweet brought waves of criticism and ridicule when he wrote "WELL DONE..BRAVO...LONG LIVE HITLER..."
The German ambassador to Malaysia Holger Michael had also described the lawmaker's tweet as "unacceptable".
Holger had said that while the Germans appreciated the admiration for the their football team, they strongly rejected the unacceptable allusion to the fascist regime of Adolf Hitler.
Following the apology, netizens flayed the flamboyant Bung Mokhtar for what, they said, was an insincere apology and questioned the need to add in "LONG LIVE BUNG" to the statement.
@ernamh said: "Just ban Bung from Twitter. Who the heck ends a Tweet by praising himself. 'Long live Bung?' Apakah..."
"The long live bung seems to show he isnt sincere at all," said @amadacharlie, while @teohjitkhiam said, "That's the best we're going to get from Bung. It's a climbdown for him. You want a grovelling apology? A 'rendition' just 12nm off M'sia."
@LittleHantu also hit out at the Sabah MP, saying, "what kind of apology is this? this too is "unacceptable" – it's better if u just resign as MP! cc @NajibRazak"
"long live bung? Seriously? You need a twitter time out, Mister!" said @maressaz.
Bung Mokhtar's apology comes after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had also publicly censured him for the controversial tweet, saying it was "unacceptable and wrong".
“The comments made by Datuk Bung Mokhtar are unacceptable and wrong, and he will withdraw them.
“He 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,” he had said in a statement issued earlier today.
Meanwhile, The Star reported that Bung Mpkhtar responded to further rebukes by tweeting a picture captioned "Ssshhhhh … Diam2 jangan bising" (Ssshhhhh … be quiet, don't make noise), and also told at least three others to "shut up".
@syaqib found Bung's behaviour unacceptable, as he was "apologising by downgrading and telling people to shut up", while @JuanPabloTiga questioned why Bung demanded silence from his detractors, saying, "A true leader listens to the people and lays down his fat ego to be humble," The Star reported. – July 10, 2014.
