Sepang Umno chief Noorazli Said has hit back at DAP leaders who questioned the sincerity of his apology over a lewd “joke” involving Catholic clergy.
Noorazli said DAP leaders were in no position to judge whether his apology was sincere, saying only God could determine a person’s sincerity.
He maintained that he had sincerely apologised and had never intended to insult Christians, priests or nuns. He also acknowledged that he deserved reprimand for his “inaccurate” reference to Psalm 129 in the Bible.
“If what I said hurt the feelings of the Christian community, I apologise. That is my stand,” he said in a Facebook post.
Noorazli cites Bible verses on forgiveness
Noorazli also cited several Bible verses on forgiveness and mercy, while urging his critics to be fair in judging his apology.
“Don’t talk about love and tolerance, and then rush to judge one’s sincerity when they offer an apology. If every apology must pass a political evaluation before it’s accepted, our society will never have peace.
“I’m not asking anyone to forget what happened. I’m simply asking you to be fair.
“I am choosing to learn from this and move forward with respect for all religions, because my religion teaches love, tolerance and forgiveness. I hope my critics are ready to do the same,” he said.
Controversial joke draws criticism
Noorazli came under fire over the “joke” he made during a speech at the Umno general assembly on Saturday.
The joke involved a priest and a nun and hinged on a punchline that was erroneously attributed to Psalm 129.
A police report was subsequently lodged against him, while Umno Youth chief Akmal Saleh, Sabah Umno treasurer Salleh Said Keruak and Tuaran MP Wilfred Madius Tangau called on him to apologise.
The Umno divisional leader said yesterday that he was “prepared to apologise” if he had “caused misunderstanding or offended the feelings of any party, especially Christians”.
Several hours later, he amended his Facebook post to state that he apologised, instead of saying that he was “prepared to apologise”.
DAP leader questions nature of apology
DAP’s Bilut assemblyman Lee Chin Chen criticised Noorazli’s statement, saying that offering to apologise if someone found the joke offensive was entirely different from apologising for making an inappropriate joke.
