‘I’ve said worse things about Ambiga’

Wanita Umno member Norhayati Saiddin says this in an apparent apology to law undergraduate KS Bawani and the Indian community.

PETALING JAYA: In an apology for her remarks, Wanita Umno member Norhayati Saiddin said she had posted “worse comments” about Bersih chairperson S Ambiga in the past.

“Since you all demanded an apology…okay…I’m sorry if it made everyone uncomfortable. In fact, I have already apologised earlier and explained the matter,” she wrote on her Facebook.

Norhayati said that she never meant to insult law student KS Bawani or the Indian community.

In her Facebook comments that drew criticism, the Wanita Umno member had said that Bawani should “go to India” if she wanted free education.

She also said the Indian community was making excessive demands, claiming that the community never knew what toilets were before Barisan Nasional came into power.

In her defence, Norhayati said that she never told Bawani to “go back to India” but merely told her to study in India if she wanted free education.

“On the toilets, we must admit that in the early days of our Independence, we never knew what is a toilet. Only when our nation developed did we enjoy such facilities,” she added.

Norhayati said that she never meant to sound racist as she grew up in a multi-racial environment.

“It’s just that some of people of my own race but with different political leanings have made a big fuss out of my comments,” she added.