REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla has urged former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohammad here on Tuesday to apologize over his recent statement about Bugis tribe.

He stated that he was shocked upon knowing about Mahathir's speech insulting his political rival, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, as a pirate because of his origin from the Bugis tribe.

"First, as a Bugis member, I am shocked and I have protested against. Therefore, Mahathir must apologize, because Bugis members are not only found in South Sulawesi but across Indonesia and even in Malaysia," he noted.

Kalla added that Mahathir must withdraw his statement because of the wound it has inflicted in the minds of the members of the tribe. Moreover, he should not have made the statement in his political speech in Petaling Jaya, Kuala Lumpur, on Oct.10.

"Mahathir must correct it. (He must not) connect the statement with the tribe," Kalla, who is of Bugis descent, remarked.

In his recent speech, Mahathir described Bugis descents as pirates and thieves, causing outcry from Bugis descendants, including the Malaysian Association of Malay Bugis (PPRBMM).

They urged Mahathir to apologize and withdraw his statement about the tribe.

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