German ambassador ‘strongly rejects’ Bung’s Hitler tweet
(The Star) – German ambassador to Malaysia Holger Michael (pic) ‘strongly rejects’ Kinabatangan MP Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin’s controversial tweet where he congratulated the German national team’s performance in the World Cup semi-finals while saluting Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.
“We strongly reject the distasteful and unacceptable allusion to the fascist regime of Adolf Hitler,” Michael told TIME magazine.
But Bung showed no remorse during a Wednesday interview with The Star, saying that he was a fan of the German national team and that he was happy with the 7-1 win over Brazil in the semi-finals and that there wasn’t anything wrong with the reference to Adolf Hitler.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with people sometimes. Hitler is part of history and the German team fought like how he did,” he said Wednesday.
On Wednesday, following Germany’s thrashing over Brazil, Bung had tweeted, “WELL DONE..BRAVO…LONG LIVE HITLER”.
Hitler, the leader of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, was responsible for the holocaust that resulted in the death of millions of Jews.
Bung’s tweet went viral with netizens condemning the Kinabatangan MP for being “insensitive” and “brainless” among other things.
Bung however, has maintained that his tweet was just for fun and that there wasn’t anything serious about it.
“I think people nowadays should transform their mentality. Whatever I tweet people hit me. They are not hitting me because of Hitler, but because I am Bung Mokhtar,” he said.
Bung has been embroiled in a number of controversies in the past for sexist and politically incorrect remarks.
He made headlines for his 2007 “bocor” remark when he referred to former Batu Gajah MP Fong Po Kuan’s menstruation cycle when arguing about Parliament’s ceiling that was, at the time, leaking.
