“Unless Zahid stirs up trouble, there will be no riot,” the prime minister was quoted by the Malay Mail as saying, referring to Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

He said this at a press conference at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) 2018 Summit in Papua New Guinea.

Last night, Zahid warned that there would be riots if the government ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).

“This is not a mere warning, don’t play if you don’t want it to happen,” the daily quoted the former deputy prime minister as saying.

Mahathir acknowledged that the Malays are sensitive to ICERD and assured that the government would listen to public opinion.

Malaysia is among a handful of countries that have not ratified the treaty.

The treaty provides individuals worldwide with a mechanism for complaints over issues of racial discrimination, among others, and is enforceable against member states.

Specifically, it obliges parties to eliminate racial discrimination in all forms including in public institutions as well as in government policies, the issue at the heart of the opposition from Malay groups.

Those opposing the ICERD said it would undermine the special position of the Malays, including provisions to allow quotas in public institutions, as spelt out in Article 153 of the Federal Constitution.

They are also opposed to the ICERD’s timeline on member countries to end affirmative action programmes, which they say would be a death knell for Malaysia’s decades-old Bumiputera policy.