Former information minister and veteran journalist Zainuddin Maidin is willing to repeat his apology for years to come if this will stop AirAsia from slapping him with a RM5 million suit.

Zainuddin, better known as Zam, ruffled the feathers of AirAsia and AirAsia X, with a posting on his blog that claimed the airlines served pork on its flights.

NONE The posting was titled ' Hidangan babi dalam penerbangan AirAsia, orang Islam patut tangguhkan dulu terbang dengan pesawat ini " (Pork served on AirAsia, Muslims should postpone taking flights with this airlines).

In an Aug 25 posting on his blog Zamkata , Zainuddin reiterated his apology and said that AirAsia chief executive officer Kamaruddin Meranum was not aware of the company's legal action against him.

Stating he could not afford to pay the RM5 million as he lived on pension now, the former minister said: "AirAsia required me to publish the apology for six months but I would publish it for years to come with the purpose that this would spread to the future generation."

Zainuddin had first made the apology in a July 1 posting.

"Following the explanation from AirAsia, I am confident the airline is concerned about the sensitivity of its passengers and hence the apology.

"I did not know that what was published in my blog Zamkata had resulted in negative implications for AirAsia and AirAsia X.

"After receiving the letters from AirAsia's lawyers, I realised that it gave the impression or picture as if pork was served in all AirAsia and AirAsia X flights.

"It is not true at all. I apologise for the damage caused by the article," he had said.