'I won't apologise to Najib' - Dr Ling

Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik said he will not apologise for the remarks he made against the Prime Minister.

In a media statement, the former MCA president said he was surprised to receive a letter of demand from Datuk Seri Najib Razak's lawyer, accusing him of defaming the premier.

"I was also extremely surprised that the contents of the letter had been splashed all over the media.

"Not only that, according to media reports, the Prime Minister himself had demanded an apology from me," said Dr Ling.

He stressed that he would not retract his remarks and would defend himself should he be sued.

"I say to the Prime Minister, if you choose to sue me, I will defend myself. In all humility, I accept your challenge.

"I want to reiterate that I stand by what I said. I will not apologise," he said.

On Saturday, a media portal had quoted Dr Ling as saying that he agreed with former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's callfor Najib to resign.

Following this remark, legal firm Hafarizam Wan & Aisha Mubarak issued a letter of demand on behalf of Najib to Dr Ling at the latter's residence.

The letter demanded for an apology and compensation within seven days, failing which legal action would be taken against him.