KUALA LUMPUR, July 17 -- DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke said the apology from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on the death of former political aide Teoh Beng Hock was long overdue.

At a press conference following MACC chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki's rare statement marking the 16th anniversary of Teoh's death, Loke said the public apology was a long waited-gesture that reflected the government's willingness to reckon with past wrongs.

"After 16 years this is the first time MACC made a public apology. I think that is the least they must do. It is long overdue but welcome it as a necessary act of transitional justice," he told reporters when met at DAP headquarters today.

Teoh, who was a political aide to a Sela...