PETALING JAYA: Film producer David Teo is exasperated at being repeatedly asked to apologise over an incident at a National Transformation 2050 dialogue on Wednesday, which was hosted by Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Teo, who was slapped by an actor at the gathering, said he had apologised to Najib over the brief scuffle that followed the attack.

“I don’t know how many times they want me to apologise and to whom – the public or the person who slapped me?” he said in an interview with FMT. “I’ve already apologised to the prime minister. That’s enough lah.

“Saying sorry once is more meaningful than saying it ten times.”

Demands for an apology have come from several Malay NGOs who accused Teo of rude behaviour in the presence of the prime minister.

Teo is the CEO of Metrowealth Pictures. The Television Producers Association of Malaysia (PTVM), of which he is a member, tendered a public apology on his behalf yesterday.

PTVM president Jurey Latiff Rosli said he was sure that Teo had no intention of being rude during the event.

Teo said PTVM decided on its own to make the apology. He said he did not need anyone to apologise on his behalf.

The scuffle broke out after Teo took the microphone to criticise the session’s moderator, Rosyam Nor, for allegedly overlooking those seated at the back when it came to taking questions or suggestions.

Actor Sulaiman Yassin, popularly known as Mat Over, walked up to him and slapped him after he had begun his question by reciting a verse about waves landing on a beach. Sulaiman accused him of disrespecting Najib.

Security officials then escorted both men from the venue, a hall at Seri Perdana.

Several parties have called on the police to take criminal action against Sulaiman, who has reportedly said he did not regret what he did.

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