Jakarta – A legislator from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party apologized on Thursday after House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Ali said people who live on islands should expect to be swept away by tsunamis and that they should be relocated.

"On behalf of the Democratic Party, I apologize for Marzuki's statement," Ruhut told Metro TV.

Marzuki, a Democrat, said on Wednesday that tsunami's were a "risk for people who live beside the ocean."

"It took a long time before news of the Mentawai tsunami reached the public because the Mentawais are remote," Marzuki was quoted as saying. "To be swept away by a big wave or by a tsunami is probably the consequence of living on an island," Marzuki said.

He also said an early warning system would not have helped prevent hundreds of deaths because locals would not have had time to leave the island. "Anyone who is afraid of waves shouldn't live near seashore," he said, adding that relocating people who lived on islands should be considered.

West Sumatra scholar Ricky Avenzora also criticized the comments, labeling them naive and hurtful. "Marzuki Alie's statement about the tsunami in Mentawai did not only show the naivete of a legislative leader but it is also very very painful for the people of West Sumatra," he said.

Ricky said the statement was insensitive and senseless because many people had lost loved ones in the disaster. "And you can't take people from their homes and relocate them. How much strength does Marzuki have to relocate all the islanders in Indonesia and what will he do with the islands afterwards?" he said.

Marzuki, speaking on Thursday, said he did not intend to be insensitive or offensive and that his comments had been taken out of context. "Yes, I did say that people living near the sea were at risk of experiencing a tsunami, but [the media] just published my last statement... I was saying it in a joking tone... but look at the results. Very hurting." (Antara, JG)