KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 — Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh has defended his stance on demanding an apology from DAP for the latter’s purported past sins and biting remarks against the party.

In his closing speech at the Umno Youth general assembly 2023 today, Dr Akmal said that he felt it was important to voice out grassroots concerns regardless of the consequences that he might face.

"Let people say that we are rude but what matters is that we are voicing out what the grassroots want.

"This is the bitter truth, but I want to share the bitter truth as medicine to heal,” he told the wing’s more than 1,000 delegates at the World Trade Centre (WTC) here.

In his speech, Dr Akmal had demanded DAP apologise to Umno purportedly for its past mistakes, and to prove its sincerity to the coalition government led by PKR’s Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, which comprises Pakatan Harapan component parties and the Barisan Nasional, Gabungan Parti Sarawak, and Gabungan Bersatu Sabah.

Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi quickly dismissed the need for DAP to apologise as the matter does not need to be raised again by his party.