KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 7 — DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke today reminded PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang to stop looking at the Chinese in the country as if they are enemies to the Malays.

He said likewise the Malays are not enemies to the non-Malays.

"Malays losing power? They say this because of the non-Malays. Today, the PAS president said that the state election is jihad and that they want to fight. Fight who?

"We are all Malaysians, right? There is no problem, we are together. I am a candidate even though I’m Chinese, in front of me the voters are Malays, does it mean that I am your enemy?” Loke asked in a video uploaded on his TikTok account today.

His remarks came after Hadi’s claims in a Facebook post that Muslims are obligated to vote as it is akin to "jihad” or a holy struggle when other ethnic groups threaten the political dominance of the majority group in Malaysia.

"Are you my enemy? There is no need.

"Why do we have to be enemies with each other? Today we bring collaboration in the government to being good (for all),” he added in the video.

With the six state elections just around the corner, Hadi had again urged Malay Muslims to vote for their own group to keep Muslims in power in the country.

He reportedly said that when Muslims are in a position where they have to compete with the other races that are challenging the political force of Muslims, then voting is a fardhu ‘ain jihad that becomes mandatory for every Muslim to perform.

Fardhu ‘ain refers to obligatory acts that must be performed by each Muslim, rather than observing it as a community.

These usually include pillars of faith such as prayer and fasting, but can also include charity and for some ensuring compliance with the Islamic code.

While "jihad” is popularly associated with war or armed struggle, it can refer to any effort driven to conform to Islamic teachings.

Before this, Hadi had insisted that only Malay Muslims should lead, rule, and administer a pluralistic society that includes non-Muslims after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim asserted that the stability of a government relies more on its policies rather than its ethnic composition.

He later told non-Muslims to just let the majority ethnic group continue to hold the reins of the country, and non-Muslims should be grateful that they have been given "a place” in this country through the jus soli citizenship policy that he claimed would not be afforded everywhere else.

Most recently, the PAS president said the unity government is not fit to lead because it is "dominated” by minorities, a claim that has been debunked several times.

Last month, the police said they were investigating Hadi for remarks that allegedly touch on race, religion, and royalty — commonly known as the 3R sensitivities.