Former information minister Zainuddin Maidin has advised deputy minister Tajuddin Abdul Rahman not to apologise to the Chinese community as doing so will not earn their support for the BN.

Zainuddin said this in reference to demands that Tajuddin apologises for saying that Chinese Malaysians could be slapped (lempang) if they sought foreign help for their grouses.

Tak payahlah Timbalan Menteri Tajuddin nak minta maaf pd orang Cina. Tak ada faedah pun. Mereka tak akan kembali sokong Umno atau BN

— Zainudin Maidin (@ZainudinMaidin) October 2, 2015

"No need for deputy minister Tajuddin to apologise to the Chinese (Malaysians).

"There is no benefit. They will not support Umno and BN again," Zainuddin, who is widely referred to as Zam and was also a former editor-in-chief of Utusan Malaysia , said in a Twitter posting.

Tajuddin ( photo ) made the statement on Thursday in reference to Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Huang Huikang’s visit to Petaling Street on Sept 25, a day ahead of a racially-charged rally Umno leaders planned to hold there. However, the rally was aborted.

Huang had raised eyebrows when he said during his visit that China was against extremism and racism against any particular race.

Demands for Tajuddin to apologise for his statement have also come from within BN's ranks, including from MCA.

However, Zainuddin said MCA should not put the blame on Umno for the reaction.

"MCA should admit that the Chinese newspapers want the Chinese ambassador as a godfather and not shift the anger towards Umno," he said in a separate Twitter posting.