Mahathir claimed that the Malays have been gradually deprived of their rights under the unity government led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and said this prompted them to unite to champion the community.

“Malay power over ‘Tanah Melayu’ will disappear if nothing is done to prevent that from happening.

“We agree that we have a common enemy. We have to come together to face this common enemy.

“We have agreed to come together to ensure the Malays do not lose power … to bring about Malay unity to ensure they do not lose all their power,” he said at a press conference after a roundtable meeting of the leaders present today.

He was joined by PN chairman Muhyiddin Yassin, PAS vice-president Idris Ahmad, former Umno secretary-general Annuar Musa and former Pejuang deputy president Marzuki Yahya, among others.

Mahathir, the former Bersatu chairman, also claimed that many vocal Malays were under pressure by the government.

“Threats are made that they will be charged in court as criminals, detained and fined. Because of that, many Malays feel they should come together because the problem is common to all of them.

“This is not tied to one particular (political) party alone,” he said.