KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27 — The two Sabah DAP leaders, who were reprimanded for accepting state awards that carry the “Datuk” title earlier this month, today apologised for violating the party’s policy against receiving honours while still in active politics.

Chan Foong Hin and Phoong Jin Zhe also acknowledged breaching the party’s policy by accepting the awards on October 7.

“We want to reassure everyone that our commitment to upholding the party’s principles and values is unwavering.

“We have taken to heart the strong reprimand from DAP central executive committee (CEC) and are ready to accept the party’s guidance and advice with humility and an open mind,” said Chan and Phoong in a joint statement today.

The two were responding to the reprimand by party secretary-general Anthony Loke yesterday for going against the policy pertaining to receiving state or federal awards while serving as elected representatives.

Chan and Phoong said that they had previously explained their decision to accept the awards, repeating their claim that they were acting out of respect for the Sabah governor and the state government.

“We understand that this should not be an excuse to undermine the party’s principle and policy.

“As Sabahans, we deeply value the state governor’s recognition of DAP’s dedicated service to the people and the community.

“Our unwavering dedication to serving the people and our beloved nation as elected representatives remains resolute,” they said.

On October 7, it was reported that Chan, who is the state’s deputy agriculture and food security minister, and Phoong had received the Panglima Gemilang Darjah Kinabalu (PGDK) award in conjunction with Sabah governor Tun Juhar Mahiruddin’s birthday.

Chan, who is the Kota Kinabalu MP, is a Sabah DAP committee member, while Phoong is the Luyang assemblyman as well as the party’s state secretary.

In 2018, DAP formalised a policy for party leaders to decline titles while still in active politics, after four members received state honours carrying the title of “Datuk”.

The party’s CEC decided to put the “decades-old” practice into writing after the award recipients claimed ignorance of it.