KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today said that being born a Malay does not mean it is alright for him to be a "racist” or to deny non-Malays their rights.

Speaking at the International Malaysia Law Conference 2023 here, he said it is of utmost importance that Malaysia takes the position to uphold the Federal Constitution as the nation’s supreme law and gave his assurance that he will use all resources at his disposal to see the matter through.

"I am a Malay, I respect the Malay culture, tradition, rulers, language, but that does not make me racist or deny the rights of others.

"Yes, the Constitution is very clear on the position of the Malays. But the Constitution is also clear on protecting the welfare of all citizens in this country and the future is for all Malaysians.

"I cannot understand why in 2023 we are stuck. We are not talking about governance, economic advancement, or digital technology. We are stuck on who this country belongs to, the Malays or the Chinese or the Christians,” he said in his speech.

Anwar also challenged those who claimed to be championing Malay rights by putting their money where their mouth is.

"They are all billionaires, their children are billionaires.

"They talk about Malay survival, I challenge them, if it’s true you want to help the Malays, then surrender half your wealth to the Malays,” he said to loud applause from the audience.

On July 3, Dr Mahathir claimed Anwar was beholden to the DAP even though the party only had four ministers in the Cabinet.

The former two-time prime minister also claimed that promoting a multi-ethnic Malaysia is unconstitutional, and alleged that the Federal Constitution is steeped in "Malayness”.

In a series of tweets, Dr Mahathir claimed that the DAP had a "manifesto” to turn the country into a multi-ethnic secular one without a religion of the federation, and that the Anwar administration would collapse if the party’s 40 MPs chose to withdraw their support for the PKR president.

His remark was slammed by many in the government as baseless, including Anwar and DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke.

The Malaysian Bar has also condemned him for selectively interpreting the Federal Constitution.