KUALA LUMPUR:Bintulu Member of Parliament (MP), Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing has today apologised for his inappropriate rants during the 2021 Budget debate in the Dewan Rakyat recently.

King Sing, who is also the Prime Minister’s Special Ambassador to China, said he had not intended to deny the noble practices of all front line personnel including the Director General of Health, Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, doctors and nurses.

"To ensure the smooth running of the Dewan Rakyat sitting apart from the importance and harmony of the country, I apologise if there are any offensive words uttered during the 2021 Budget debate.

"It is not at all my intention to deny the noble practice of all doctors, nurses, front lines including the Director-General of Health.

"I do not want because of me, the whole affairs of the Dewan Rakyat are hampered," he said in a statement issued on Sunday.

Recently, King Sing, who is also the President of the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), described Dr Noor Hisham as an individual 'who is scared to die' because he was considered not serious and did not go down to the ground in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic that hit the country, especially in Sabah at this time.

Following the statement, several MPs, especially the opposition, demanded an apology from him.

Not only the opposition, a leader of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) who is also the Sarawak Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, slammed the statement which was deemed inappropriate, shocking and embarrassing.

Cuepacs President Adnan Mat also described the statement by King Sing questioning Dr Noor Hisham for allegedly not going down to the ground to see for himself the situation of COVID-19, as very outrageous and seen to humiliate the sacrifices of civil servants who worked hard to curb the spread of COVID-19.