In his latest blog posting, Zaid said the word was actually a derogatory term used “back in the day” to refer to someone who had been “diperkudakan”, that is, a “lackey led by the nose”.

Zaid said although he had been “reminded” by his wife to not comment on what ministers say as it could land him in trouble, he couldn’t refrain from responding when the “second most highly-qualified Cabinet member” Khairy (after Mustapa Mohamad) said it is okay for Umno Malays to be “macais”.

“When I was growing up, my Chinese friends would be very careful about using the word ‘macai’ on Malays in our presence. In some Cantonese circles, the word meant someone who had been ‘diperkudakan’ — a lackey who is led by the nose.

“Malays of my generation feel proud about our ancestry and character, even if we are all very poor people from the villages. We would certainly object to being described as ‘macais’ whether by Chinese or even Malay friends.

“As children, we would never have wanted to grow up to become someone’s lackey,” he posted.

Zaid added that the situation may be different now with the “new generation of Malays”, led by leaders like the Rembau MP, who are not affected by the “macai” badge.

“This is indeed the new cultural transformation that Umno has brought to Malays.

“I just want to appeal to young Malays to reject Khairy’s ‘advice’. We must be proud as a people and we should never allow others to use us or depict us as lackeys. We must be responsible for the development of all Malays by teaching them the right values.

“Khairy has a right to be a ‘macai’ but it’s right only for him. We mustn’t follow suit,” said Zaid, adding that Khairy may have uttered the remarks out of fear of falling out of favour with the “emperor”, possibly alluding to Umno President Najib Razak.

Yesterday, Khairy, who is also Umno Youth Chief, said that Umno members must stand by Najib, even at the cost of being labelled a “macai”.