PETALING JAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has apologised for using the word “keling”, saying he never meant to insult anyone.

“When I was a small boy, we used to use that word but now it is considered to be derogatory so I apologise if I have caused any problems for them,” he told a press conference here yesterday.

The Pakatan Harapan chairman had used the word when criticising the Election Commission at an event in Johor on Saturday.

He was reported to have said: “I want to use a ‘keling’ word. The ‘keling’ say podah (get lost).”

On Monday, National Human Rights Society chairman Datuk S. Ambiga said while the term might have been commonly used in Kedah and not considered derogatory there, the term is unacceptable and hurtful to the Indian Malaysian community today.

DAP’s Dr P. Ramasamy, who is a Penang deputy chief minister, advis-ed Dr Mahathir to go easy on the use of clichés and terms that may be insulting to some ethnic groups.

Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir also clarified that he had never said the people of Sabah and Sarawak were lazy.

“I would be crazy to say that when I want them to support us during the election. What I did say was that the leaders, especially of Sabah, are very greedy and that’s why they have stolen money from the Govern­ment,” he said.