Apology accepted, I’m sorry too, Karpal tells Speaker

The veteran politician also thanks Pandikar Amin Mulia for his services rendered to the Dewan Rakyat.

PETALING JAYA: DAP chairman and veteran politician Karpal Singh today said he was deeply touched by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia’s apology to him yesterday, and reciprocated with his own apology.

“I wish to reciprocate by asking for his forgiveness for the many transgressions for which an apology is due from me to him.

“I wish Tan Sri Pandikar well and thank him on behalf of the DAP for his services rendered to the Dewan Rakyat,” Karpal said in a statement today.

Yesterday, at the end of the last parliamentary session before the 13th general election, Pandikar took the opportunity to apologise to MPs if he had hurt their feelings in the course of the parliamentary sittings since 2008.

He specifically tendered his apology to Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh for being insensitive over the veteran MP’s health conditions.

He explained that there was one time during the sitting when he had asked for all the MPs to raise their hands to make a decision on a Bill and had reprimanded Karpal for failing to do so.

He said it had slipped his mind that Karpal could not lift his hand as he was disabled following a bad car crash some years ago.

“I still feel bad about it till today. Although Karpal is not in the House today, I would like to say that I am very sorry. I did not mean to be so insensitive,” Pandikar said yesterday.