KUALA LUMPUR: The man who lashed out at a beer promoter at a hypermarket has admitted to abusing the victim and issued a public apology for his actions.
The man, who identifies himself as Edi Rejang, apologised to the salesgirl and Malaysians in a 45-second video clip posted on Facebook and Twitter on Tuesday (Nov 20) evening.
"I would like to apologise publicly to all Malaysians including the female promoter.
"I admit my fault and I regret my actions towards the promoter," he said, adding that he hoped the issue would be put to rest.
In another 45-second video posted on Twitter, Edi was seen talking to reporters in a press conference with Kepong member of parliament Lim Lip Eng.
Edi said he had no intentions to be racist towards the woman and maintained that his actions that day were "spontaneous".
In a video clip that has gone viral on social media, Edi was seen humiliating the salesgirl at a hypermarket said to be in Ampang.
He was recording a video of the salesgirl promoting an alcoholic beverage to customers at the hypermarket.
It deserves a mention that the salesgirl was promoting beer at the alcoholic section.
Edi, whose face could not be seen in the video, was heard asking the girl if she was giving out samples of the drink to everyone.
To this, the girl replied firmly in the negative, saying she only offered samples of the drink to non-Muslims.
The girl then spoke to Edi in English, after which he remarked that this is 'Bumi Melayu' and she should converse in Malay.
Unperturbed by his provocation, the girl merely smiled and asked if he was being racist to which he kept saying 'no, no, no.'
He then made a rude gesture to the girl, which was visible in the video.
Many on Facebook criticised the man for disturbing the girl who according to them was just doing her job which was limited to the non-Halal alcoholic section of the hypermarket.
Lim yesterday lodged a report at the Ampang Jaya district police headquarters, saying he wanted the authorities to eradicate racial tension in the country.
Meanwhile, Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching yesterday urged the public not to victimise Edi's child following the deluge of criticism levelled against the father.
Teo also advised the public against share pictures or details of the child, such as the name of his or her school.
“School is for all children. We should not allow any student to be discriminated against or bullied,” she posted on Facebook yesterday.
“Let’s end hatred and not bring it (into) the school,” she said in a Facebook posting.
It was reported that the police are investigating the case under Section 509 of the Penal Code, which deals with offences where words or gestures are used with the intention to insult the modesty of a person.
It carries a maximum five-year prison sentence, a fine, or both upon conviction.