OPPOSITION Leader Dr Keith Rowley has apologised for his "cat" comments saying it was a representation of his Tobago genealogy and not meant to offend anyone.
Rowley made the statement last night as he delivered the feature address at a People's National Movement (PNM) meeting held at the Mt D'Or community centre.
Last week Tuesday at a PNM political meeting in Brazil, East Trinidad Rowley made a statement which has provoked a firestorm from some sectors.
"She could jump high, she could jump low, she could drink this, she could drink that, she could bark at meh dog, I go ignore she cat," Rowley said in reference to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Tuesday night.
Persad-Bissessar condemned Rowley's comments and labelled it is an attack on every woman in this country.
A number of leaders from women's organisations across the country, including president of the National Muslim Women's Organisation of Trinidad and Tobago Soraya Khan, have called on Rowley to apologise for his comments.
The United National Congress' Women's Arm described Rowley's comments as "disrespectful and derogatory".
The PNM's Women's League however defended Rowley stating "there was nothing malicious, sexual, sexist or chauvinistic about it".
Rowley addressed the issue last night.
"Ladies and gentlemen I could spend a lot of time talking about animals because I have been trained in zoology, I bet you did not know that, I have training in zoology but I am not going to spend one minute tonight on any animal," Rowley said.
"Not tonight, nor on no other night because I realise that this desperate government is proving the maxim 'desperate people do desperate things," he said.
"But I want to say one thing which I must say as a public official I hold the office of Opposition Leader and I represent all the people in Trinidad and Tobago in that office because there is only one person who holds that job and while I have it, I do the job without fear or favour, malice or ill-will and if I resort to the Tobago genealogy that I carry without any complaint or apology, if I resort to that in invoking the concept of 'tit for tat' and it has offended any person in this country.....I am in the service of the people of this country, I am not in the business of offending anyone so therefore I have regrets on that, that was not my intention to offend anybody. If there are those who think they can prosper politically by that I wish them well," he said.
Rowley said it was being used as a distraction.
"I simply want to remind you that there is a lot that the government and the government's friends don't want you to know because they know that if you know that, they don't stand a chance in hell in getting back into office to continue their misconduct which has been the highlight of the last four and half years," Rowley said.
"So their campaign is to make sure that you don't know what you should know hoping that you will vote in ignorance," he said.
(This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
